Phobia is a fear of something. Usually fear is very common – most of us know that someone is afraid of height or spider or public speaking. But it may be afraid of many other things. Here are some of the most unusual phobias I have encountered:

Chionophobia

This is the fear of snow. If you are a winter sports enthusiast, it sounds unusual, but it is often centered on the fear of snowflakes, making it a phobia in some climates.

Sesquipedalophobia

A less suitable name because of fear of a long story. This is not the phobia I have suffered, but its name is definitely controversial. Some people are afraid of long words because they are worried that they will mess up their pronunciation or make themselves look stupid.

Fear of gravity to reverse yourself

I can't find the official name in this regard [although "phobia" covers the fear of gravity itself], but the idea that nature's law reverses itself is not something I personally want to pay attention to.

Asymmetriphobia

This is the fear of asymmetrical things. It doesn't seem too worrying at first, until you remember that many things in the world are asymmetrical – whether it's odd leaves on plants or tiny differences between the left and right sides of our body.

Somniphobia

Fortunately, fear of sleep is very rare because we all need to sleep [some more or less than others]. This is a kind of fear, we usually grow up – children are more prone to this phobia, especially if they have recently had a nightmare.

Gephyrophobia

Another embarrassing worry: worry about crossing the bridge. If you are unfortunate enough to suffer this pain, your journey may become longer. Modern architecture helped prevent the devastating damage of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940, the first time it was opened to the public.

Melanophobia

Or fear of blacks – so it's not a phobia that is popular among Goths. Black is often found in the world, so this phobia is what you want to cure, or at least it can be reduced.

Paraskavedekatriaphobia

Although many of us suffer from this fear, it is usually just because of superstition – this is the fear of Friday, 13th. Some poor people are indeed more affected by this, so they are seriously affected between one to three times a year.

Fear of road cracks

Another one I can't find the official name. This is a phobia that steps on a crack in the road, usually accompanied by fear that the crack will open and may engulf you, or – in a more extreme example I have found – that completely attracts you into another dimension.

Caligynephobia

This is a fear of beautiful women – this is hard for most men to believe. It is thought to be related to people's fear of more common social phobias in social situations.

The most unusual phobia was originally published on Spring