In one of the papers this morning, it was reported that twice a month, little tiny baby horses are brought to an airport in Cincinnati in the US to calm nervous flyers.
Now, some people would be more afraid of the horses than actually flying-through-the-sky-in-a-tin-can (see Mike, Ballybunion, below) but different strokes for different folks and all that.
It prompted me to ask; what are the things you know are silly to be afraid of but you just can’t help it?
Mine are dogs – I’ll cross the road if one trots towards me and don’t get me started on dogs off leashes – and balloons. Specifically, children holding balloons because the inevitable will always happen – balloon will pop, child will cry and my ears will explode.
Have a look at the weird things the listeners of the Early Breakfast and take note at how many toilet-related fears there are out there...
- “Horses frighten me! Evil looking feckers! I don't mind donkeys though!” - Mike in Ballybunion
- “Morning Paula, my biggest fear is commitment!” - Jack in Killiomardaly
- “Statler and Waldorf from the Muppets. Frightened the bejayzuz out of me as a kid!” – Con, Cork
- “Paula I'm very phobic about the water levels in toilets. High water level = panic attack. Has stopped me returning to America it's that bad. Their toilets have loads of water! Crazy I know!” - Sinéad
- “I’m 25 years old and I’m still afraid of the wooden spoon!” – BarryBear via Snapchat
- “I'm afraid of a badly made of cup of tea!!” - Tom on his way to the airport, heading for Thailand
- “I fear taxis so much that I never sit in one. I always walk home. My girlfriend will kill me one day yet. Love the show!” - Sean
- “ET was absolutely terrifying to me as a child. I recently tried to watch it again, decades later, thinking I'd grown up and could handle it. I was wrong!”
- “Crows, pheasants, pigeons, hens.”
- “My little one is terrified of fluff that comes out of the dryer. It’s so funny but we had to stop laughing because she was genuinely frightened.” – Carol
- “Hi Paula, I've had an irrational fear of cows ever since I was a child. Don't know where it came from but I can't be anywhere near one without panicking!”
- “Morning Paula! Not sure if this counts but I have a phobia of people touching my elbows! My husband thinks it's hilarious but I nearly dropped my toddler because she learned from her daddy to try tickle my elbow, I physically jerked so bad she nearly went flying! She didn't though just to clarify! God even the thought of it someone touching my elbow makes me feel sick! Yip I know I'm a freak!” - Suz
- “When I was small, everyone was getting Furbies for Christmas and I couldn’t even look at them. My older brother showed me Gremlins when I was way too young to watch and I was convinced they were the same thing!”
- “Paula I'm afraid of tall buildings and statues. Don't get me started on that last scene from planet of the apes!” - Janet in Sligo
- “ Sweetpea, my wife doesn't like flying to the extent that we once ended up getting off the plane in France on the runway with the very kind cabin crew trying to talk her back onto the plane. She won’t give into her fear and still flies..and she also hates lifts whitch means I'm after carrying luggage up and down every back stairs in Europe!” - Jayo
- “When I flush the toilet, if I don’t run out of the bathroom and down the hall before it finishes flushing I will be sucked in.”
- “Wooden toilet seats. Why? I haven’t a clue, but they gave me the heebie jeebies.”
- “Getting a haircut used to scare the hell out of me. When I went to the barber for the first time I ran out because I saw him pull out a pair of scissors.”
- “Simply Red, just hearing them makes my skin crawl!” - Maria in Galway
- “Plasters. I’d rather bleed to death!” - Tom
- “I have a fear of getting lost and I'm a truck driver!”
- “Hi Paula! I’m terrified of that freak Iggle Piggle... blue weirdo of a stuffed toy - he’s not right. Shivers just thinking of him!” Marcey in Tipp
- “Morning Paula, I have a serious fear of needles. I have to keep the eyes closed and the fists clenched even at the smallest needle.” - Paul on route to Dublin from Wexford
- “Bellybuttons!”
- “That weird elephant thing from Sesame Street terrified me. Snufflupagus!”
- “One word FEET. OMG I hate them!”
- “Hi again, The Spire in Dublin does it for me, I get dizzy looking up at it. Then I start to imagine clinging to the top and slowly start sliding down till you can't hold on, shudder!” - Mike
- “I'm terrified to the core of the Hakka, in any shape or form! My kids get a kick outta terrifying me!” - Mary in Wexford
@sweetpmac Car washes that you drive through 😂😂
— tricia (@triciawixted) May 16, 2017
@AlisonTodayFM @sweetpmac Balloons are my fear, but even more so when kids are holding them
— Caroline Collins (@carcollins) May 16, 2017
@sweetpmac Things with beaks. And flapping wings to close to my personal space. Birds basically. And 🤡🤡 obvs
— Stephanie McS (@Stephmcs) May 16, 2017
@sweetpmac Polystyrene and cotton wool 😯😕
— Ju (@pizza_egg) May 16, 2017
@sweetpmac #Dolls, they come to life when you're not looking, seriously!!
— Brendan Cruise (@brendancruise) May 16, 2017
@sweetpmac Clowns!!!!
— Paula Voiseux (@paulavois) May 16, 2017
@sweetpmac hens and earwigs. Equally terrifying 😱
— Fiona Costello (@cossiemum) May 16, 2017
