Phobias so weird they'll scare you

FEARS. We all have them but some are stranger than others. We're not talking about a fear of flying, or dying, or trying. We're talking about those fears that are perhaps a little more left-field than your average phobia. Like chopsticks, for example. Consecotaleophobia. Try explaining THAT next time you're invited to yum cha. Or genuphobia, a fear of knees. We all have two of them! But some experience a fear of knees so great that symptoms include - but are not limited to - becoming sick to the stomach, excessive sweating, dry mouth, and anxiety when presented with a situation including knees or kneeling. Christina Ricci suffers from botanophobia, an irrational fear of plants. "They are dirty. I'm repulsed by the fact that there's a plant indoors. It just freaks me out," she said. While Billy Bob Thornton has admitted he has a phobia of antique furniture: "Maybe it's a past life thing and I got beat to death with an old chair. But I'm totally serious. I can't eat around antiques," he once said. As for Kelly Obsbourne, she struggles with haphophobia which is the fear of being touched. Her brother Jack once said in an interview, “All you have to do is just touch her collarbone. It’s awesome, she starts dry-retching.” A phobia goes beyond normal rational thought and is described as an anxiety disorder which manifests itself as a persistent fear of an object or situation. Most phobias are classified into three categories: Social phobia - social anxiety Agoraphobia - fear of leaving home or a safe area, loosely defined as a fear of open spaces Specific phobias - fear of a single object, idea or thing that triggers panic And while most phobia's are no laughing matter, it's some of the "specific phobias" that prove to be the most interesting.