Z is for Zemmiphobia

Zemmiphobia is an irrational fear of the great mole rat. While there is not technically an animal called the great mole rat, there is a commonly accepted type of mole rat that would fall into this description. It looks like this:

Scary, right?

I don't have zemmiphobia, nor do I know anyone with it, but in high school I got my hands on one of those lists that includes every phobia, and this was one of the few that stuck in my head. I don't know why, but I still can't think about it without giggling (I sincerely apologize to anyone with this phobia). I just can't imagine there are enough people in the world afraid of this tiny, blind, hairless rodent to make it a full-blown phobia. But then, there are a lot of really random fears that I wouldn't expect to be phobias. For example:

• Alliumphobia - Fear of garlic (vampire much?)
• Cherophobia - Fear of gaiety
• Chrometophobia or Chrematophobia - Fear of money
• Erythrophobia or Erytophobia or Ereuthophobia - 1) Fear of redlights. 2) Blushing. 3) Red.
• Gnosiophobia - Fear of knowledge
• Graphophobia - Fear of writing or handwriting
• Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia - Fear of the number 666 (OK, this one's not so random. I just wanted to marvel over the length of that word)
• Kathisophobia - Fear of sitting down
• Linonophobia - Fear of string
• Macrophobia - Fear of long waits
• Mythophobia - Fear of myths or stories or false statements
• Nomatophobia - Fear of names
• Pteronophobia - Fear of being tickled by feathers
• Sinistrophobia - Fear of things to the left or left-handed (I take offense to this)
• Verbophobia - Fear of words
• Xerophobia - Fear of dryness

This list brought to you by The Phobia List.

On an unrelated note, congratulations to everyone who completed the A-Z Challenge! It was a lot of fun, though I'm definitely glad it's over. Means more time for (not) writing Defenders and (definitely) writing Bex. Happy Z Day!