Numbers in the News: Phobias

What scares people? Take a look at these frightening facts and figures.

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19.3%

The percentage of kids age 13 to 18 in the U.S. with a phobia, or intense fear of something that poses little or no danger.

45,000

The number of known spider species—most aren't harmful to humans. Still, many people have arachnophobia, or fear of spiders.

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100

The average number of times lightning strikes Earth every second. Sound scary? You might have astraphobia: the fear of thunder and lightning.

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A NUMBER TOO SMALL TO CALCULATE

The chance of dying while flying. Despite this, aviophobia, or fear of flying, is extremely common.

THINK ABOUT IT: What are you scared of? Do some research to find a statistic related to that fear. Is your fear justified or not?

SOURCES: ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, WORLD DATA BANK, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH, NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL

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