Sloane, a 12-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska, is a bit anxious about starting middle school in the fall and wonders if there’s a single word that means “fear of middle school.” There are some long, rare words for the extreme fear of...
Some people argue that the phrase the mentally ill should be scrapped, because it’s stigmatizing and fails to take neurodiversity into account. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Replacing the Term “Mentally...
A Kentucky cross-country runner had a case of hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia, or fear of the number 666. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Fear of the Number 666” I was reading a news item online the other day, and I came...
What do you call a fear of clowns? Coulrophobia, from the ancient Greek term for “one who walks on stilts.” Perhaps coulrophobia is a creepy cousin of the uncanny valley. This article from Scientific American explains further...
shy bowel n.— «Parcopresis is the phobia assigned to those who absolutely cannot do number two in a public restroom. This phobia is also termed as “shy bowel” because the sufferer, your date, must have a certain level of privacy before...
Some people wouldn’t be caught without the season’s latest fashions, and others never leave home without their asthma inhaler. But for some of us, what strikes fear into our hearts is the thought of being caught without a book. Jeanie in...