Your oddest fears - Page 2

Shawnee123 · 01-22-2009, 07:36 AM

I wouldn't say "afraid" but holes give me the willies. Like some ugly suspended ceilings...with that uneven pattern of holes. Things like that. shudder.

I don't know why.

Spiders. Very irrational.

Other than that, I'm pretty fearless. I don't have enough sense to be afraid of much in the physical world...the powers of the human mind can give me pause, though.

glatt · 01-22-2009, 07:38 AM

Those metal grates in the sidewalk. Actually, I'm not afraid of them, but my wife hates them and will detour around them. She's subconsciously trained me over the years to avoid them when walking with her, and now when I'm by myself, I avoid them too, out of habit.

Once, a couple years ago, I was walking down the sidewalk alone and changed my path to avoid a grate. This guy walking in the other direction saw me do it and started laughing at me. Said real in a real loud mocking tone "Oh no! A metal grate!" I hadn't even noticed that I did it, and had to laugh at myself. I mean, wtf? What else do I do without realizing it?

Shawnee123 · 01-22-2009, 07:39 AM

Pick your nose.

Quit it glatt!

TheMercenary · 01-22-2009, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmg1969

Croutons. I can't even walk near a salad bar. <<Shudders>>.

Seriously, my oddest fear is oversleeping and being late for work. I have never overslept, well...maybe once. It is to the point that my body clock wakes me up at least 45 minutes before my alarm goes off. I really don't even need the alarm clock.

HungLikeJesus · 01-22-2009, 08:31 AM

I fear the hard hot center of the Earth - and that nothing stands between it and us but this thin shell, this fine flaky crust, this fragile, shattered plate whose bits float and bump on a sea of molten rock.

Pie · 01-22-2009, 09:42 AM

I fear being alone. I am always only one person away from disaster.

I also fear "the dark" -- not what may be hiding in the dark, the dark itself, like the Nothing in The Neverending Story. This formless, black shifting mass will smother me to death.

Apparently, the 90% of the universe that is dark matter has been hiding in my closet all this time!

lookout123 · 01-22-2009, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

Those metal grates in the sidewalk. Actually, I'm not afraid of them, but my wife hates them and will detour around them. She's subconsciously trained me over the years to avoid them when walking with her, and now when I'm by myself, I avoid them too, out of habit.

Once, a couple years ago, I was walking down the sidewalk alone and changed my path to avoid a grate. This guy walking in the other direction saw me do it and started laughing at me. Said real in a real loud mocking tone "Oh no! A metal grate!" I hadn't even noticed that I did it, and had to laugh at myself. I mean, wtf? What else do I do without realizing it?

funny. my wife is the same way. She will not under any circumstances walk over grates, manhole covers, or the like. Both of my kids love to jump up and down on them. it's pretty funny watching her go into seizures.

Chocolatl · 01-22-2009, 11:07 AM

I'm another one of those people with an inexplicable aversion to metal grates in the ground.

I wouldn't say I am afraid of ants, but I am definitely disgusted by them. I try my best to rescue most creatures that end up in our apartment, but ants trigger a "Destroyer of Worlds" mode that I have yet to find reason for.

My oddest fear is that someone will break in and murder me while I am showering. I imagine myself defenseless with nowhere to escape, and completely surprised since the sound of the shower would have masked the robber's entry. A few weeks ago, I thought I heard someone trying to break in. Dripping wet, I grabbed a towel and sidled up to the front door, then flung it open ready to kill whatever was on the other side. All I found was a flyer for the new Chinese place down the street. The racket had been the poor advertiser fighting our weather stripping to get the flyer tucked into the door.

Shawnee123 · 01-22-2009, 11:11 AM

Wow, there are a lot of you afraid of grates?

Do many of you also fear heights? Just wondering if there is a relation?

Chocolatl · 01-22-2009, 11:17 AM

I'm not afraid of heights -- I'm afraid of falling.

ETA: which I guess does relate back to the fear of metal grates

glatt · 01-22-2009, 11:20 AM

To be fair, grates can be a little slippery when it's been raining, and they often ice up first when there is freezing rain. So I don't like them when it's wet out. You are liable to wipe out. Otherwise, they are actually pretty cool. You can imagine you are walking on air.

lookout123 · 01-22-2009, 11:29 AM

walking on the large grates always takes me back to my childhood when my cousins and i would pretend the large series of grates near the house were the deck of a star wars spaceship.

my super-awesome nerd rays are blinding you aren't they?

glatt · 01-22-2009, 11:46 AM

My father in law was a chemical engineer before he retired, and once when we were visiting him, he took us on a tour of his plant. It was pretty impressive. Halfway through it, when we were up on this second floor catwalk thing, I looked over at my wife, and she was making a strange face and pointing down. I couldn't figure out what she was pointing at. I looked through the grate we were standing on at the concrete floor about 60 feet below, but there was nothing there. "What?" I asked, and she hissed "the grate!" and it wasn't until then that I realized we had been walking all over on the grates and remembered how much she hated grates. She earned big points with me that day for putting her fear aside so she wouldn't disappoint her dad as he showed off his plant. Plus, it was kind of funny after that as we kept climbing higher up around these enormous vats.

SteveDallas · 01-22-2009, 11:49 AM

A spaceship? That would work, but I'd think of the Bespin carbon-freezing facility first for grates.

I fear personal contact with other people.

Pie · 01-22-2009, 11:55 AM

Aha! An IT type!

01-22-2009, 07:36 AM	#16
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	I wouldn't say "afraid" but holes give me the willies. Like some ugly suspended ceilings...with that uneven pattern of holes. Things like that. shudder. I don't know why. Spiders. Very irrational. Other than that, I'm pretty fearless. I don't have enough sense to be afraid of much in the physical world...the powers of the human mind can give me pause, though. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

01-22-2009, 07:39 AM	#18
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Pick your nose. Quit it glatt! __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

01-22-2009, 08:31 AM	#20
HungLikeJesus Only looks like a disaster tourist Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: above 7,000 feet Posts: 7,208	I fear the hard hot center of the Earth - and that nothing stands between it and us but this thin shell, this fine flaky crust, this fragile, shattered plate whose bits float and bump on a sea of molten rock. __________________ Keep Your Bodies Off My Lawn SteveDallas's Random Thread Picker.

01-22-2009, 09:42 AM	#21
Pie Gone and done Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 4,808	I fear being alone. I am always only one person away from disaster. I also fear "the dark" -- not what may be hiding in the dark, the dark itself, like the Nothing in The Neverending Story. This formless, black shifting mass will smother me to death. Apparently, the 90% of the universe that is dark matter has been hiding in my closet all this time! __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

01-22-2009, 11:11 AM	#24
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Wow, there are a lot of you afraid of grates? Do many of you also fear heights? Just wondering if there is a relation? __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

01-22-2009, 07:38 AM	#17
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Those metal grates in the sidewalk. Actually, I'm not afraid of them, but my wife hates them and will detour around them. She's subconsciously trained me over the years to avoid them when walking with her, and now when I'm by myself, I avoid them too, out of habit. Once, a couple years ago, I was walking down the sidewalk alone and changed my path to avoid a grate. This guy walking in the other direction saw me do it and started laughing at me. Said real in a real loud mocking tone "Oh no! A metal grate!" I hadn't even noticed that I did it, and had to laugh at myself. I mean, wtf? What else do I do without realizing it?

01-22-2009, 11:07 AM	#23
Chocolatl Glutton for Gluttony Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 1,409	I'm another one of those people with an inexplicable aversion to metal grates in the ground. I wouldn't say I am afraid of ants, but I am definitely disgusted by them. I try my best to rescue most creatures that end up in our apartment, but ants trigger a "Destroyer of Worlds" mode that I have yet to find reason for. My oddest fear is that someone will break in and murder me while I am showering. I imagine myself defenseless with nowhere to escape, and completely surprised since the sound of the shower would have masked the robber's entry. A few weeks ago, I thought I heard someone trying to break in. Dripping wet, I grabbed a towel and sidled up to the front door, then flung it open ready to kill whatever was on the other side. All I found was a flyer for the new Chinese place down the street. The racket had been the poor advertiser fighting our weather stripping to get the flyer tucked into the door.

01-22-2009, 11:17 AM	#25
Chocolatl Glutton for Gluttony Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 1,409	I'm not afraid of heights -- I'm afraid of falling. ETA: which I guess does relate back to the fear of metal grates Last edited by Chocolatl; 01-22-2009 at 11:17 AM. Reason: eta

01-22-2009, 11:20 AM	#26
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	To be fair, grates can be a little slippery when it's been raining, and they often ice up first when there is freezing rain. So I don't like them when it's wet out. You are liable to wipe out. Otherwise, they are actually pretty cool. You can imagine you are walking on air.

01-22-2009, 11:29 AM	#27
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	walking on the large grates always takes me back to my childhood when my cousins and i would pretend the large series of grates near the house were the deck of a star wars spaceship. my super-awesome nerd rays are blinding you aren't they? __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

01-22-2009, 11:46 AM	#28
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	My father in law was a chemical engineer before he retired, and once when we were visiting him, he took us on a tour of his plant. It was pretty impressive. Halfway through it, when we were up on this second floor catwalk thing, I looked over at my wife, and she was making a strange face and pointing down. I couldn't figure out what she was pointing at. I looked through the grate we were standing on at the concrete floor about 60 feet below, but there was nothing there. "What?" I asked, and she hissed "the grate!" and it wasn't until then that I realized we had been walking all over on the grates and remembered how much she hated grates. She earned big points with me that day for putting her fear aside so she wouldn't disappoint her dad as he showed off his plant. Plus, it was kind of funny after that as we kept climbing higher up around these enormous vats.

01-22-2009, 11:49 AM	#29
SteveDallas Your Bartender Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Philly Burbs, PA Posts: 7,651	A spaceship? That would work, but I'd think of the Bespin carbon-freezing facility first for grates. I fear personal contact with other people.

01-22-2009, 11:55 AM	#30
Pie Gone and done Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 4,808	Aha! An IT type! __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

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