Whether we like to admit it or not, the vast majority of people are scared of something.
Even those who claim not to be frightened of anything are likely to have a weakness in some respects, but just what are the most common phobias in the UK?
What are we really all scared of?
Ahead of Halloween coming up at the end of this month, Oakwood Theme Park in Pembrokeshire has done some digging and by using Google Search Data for the past four years, has uncovered the 20 most common phobias in the UK based on what people are searching for.
Some of the entries on the list are fairly recognisable and are perhaps the sort of fears that everyone somewhat harbours slightly, but some of the phobias are pretty unique and may even be unheard of.
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This top 10 list shows that trypophobia is, by far, the most commonly-searched phobia in the UK.
This fear of small holes and irregular patterns can seem strange to non-sufferers, but those search figures clarify that it’s a very real and serious phobia. It’s also something that product designers and developers have had to take into account as last year’s new iPhone model reportedly triggered a lot of people’s trypophobia, which probably sales figures.
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Claustrophobia, hypochondria and agoraphobia took up the next three spots on the list and all of these conditions are medically recognised by the NHS, having huge impacts on people’s lives.
Further down the list comes some of the more specific phobias and recognisable phobias.
Arachnophobia and coulrophobia – a fear of spiders and clowns, respectively – are phobias that most people can certainly sympathise with sufferers on if they’re ever unfortunate enough to encounter an eight-legged beast, or a two-legged, red-nosed entertainer.
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As well as looking at the country as a whole, Oakwood Theme Park also looked at how the most common phobias vary from region to region in an attempt to see if certain phobias are more likely to occur in certain parts of the country.
This has revealed that the North West is one of three regions in the UK where ergophobia – a fear of work – made the top 20 list.
What are the top 10 biggest fears and phobias here in the North West then?
When it comes to the fears and phobias most searched for among residents of the North West, it appears that many entires found on the UK-wide top 10 list also feature, with trypophobia again taking the top spot.
Common phobias such as claustrophobia, arachnophobia and acrophobia also feature.
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Trypophobia – Fear of Holes
Agoraphobia – Fear of Leaving the House
Hypochondria –Fear of Illness
Claustrophobia – Fear of Enclosed Spaces
Thalassophobia – Fear of the Sea
Domatophobia – Fear of the House
Arachnophobia – Fear of Spiders
Acrophobia – Fear of Heights
Photophobia – Fear of Light
Hydrophobia – Fear of Water
Does this sound about right?
By looking at the percentage increase of Google searches from 2016 to now, it was also found that every entry in the UK-wide top 10 phobia list had gone up by at least 82%.
Trypophobia was actually the slowest growing fear, followed closely by hypochondria, arachnophobia and agoraphobia.
In fact, it’s the persistent fear of the sea, thalassophobia, which is the fastest-growing fear and it’s also worth noting that nomophobia – a fear of being without a mobile device – also appears lower down the list and is expected to increase quite significantly in modern day society.
For more information, visit the Oakwood Theme Park website here.
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Electronic icons Kraftwerk announce first Manchester gig since 2017
Danny Jones
Pioneering German band Kraftwerk have announced their first UK tour since 2017, with fans having to wait almost a decade for another Manchester gig.
Thankfully, they’ll be heading back down the Autobahn and across the channel for a return to our shores soon enough with a long-awaited list of British and Irish live dates.
Kraftwerk remains one of the most groundbreaking groups in the electronic scene to this day, having paved the way for generations of new artists to keep experimenting with the genre in the 50+ years since their formation.
Heading back to Manchester early next year, die-hards will no doubt snap these tickets faster than you can say ‘Das Model’.
For anyone unaware of these veritable legends of electronica and the world of alternative/Euro-synth pop, Kraftwerk formed all the way back in 1970 and went on to shape the modern music industry, bridging the gap between music and the digital age.
Best known for tracks like ‘Computer Love’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Pocket Calculator’ and the aforementioned on named after the national motorway network, they spearheaded futurism in the musical landscape from the outset.
It seems only fitting, therefore, that their upcoming highly anticipated return to the UK comes as part of their ‘Multimedia’ tour.
While they have played a number of live shows all over the globe this year, including an extensive run in the US, next spring will be our domestic visit from Kraftwerk in nine long years.
Credit: Press shot (supplied)
You can see the full list of UK and Ireland tour dates – including a handful of Northern gigs – down below:
Spanning a total of 15 UK dates, as you can see, there will also be tickets to see Kraftwerk nearby in the likes of Liverpool and with our mates over in Sheffield.
Kraftwerk legend Ralf Hütter famously played a set inside our city’s velodrome at the National Cycling Centre for Manchester International Festival (MIF) back in 2009, and has collaborated with the event on multiple ocassions.
In fact, that very performance was seen as a turning point for MIF, so the Manc Kraftwerk connection speaks for itself; O2 members can obviously get pre-sale, but general admission tickets go live from 9am this Friday, 10 October.
Britain has a new ‘favourite’ curry – and we’re absolutely ashamed of the nation…
Danny Jones
Chicken tikka masala is reportedly no longer Britain’s ‘favourite’ curry, and after finding out what has replaced it, we have decided you all need to be stopped.
Following a study carried out by Foodhub for National Curry Week (3–9 October), researchers found that one dish overtook tikka masala as the most ordered curry in the UK. It’s chicken korma, apparently.
We’re not mad, we’re just disappointed and deeply, deeply confused.
For years, chicken tikka masala has been not only Britain’s favourite curry but the UK’s national dish – it’s a classic created by Indian migrants to appeal to the nation’s palate and has done so successfully for decades. We defy anyone to turn their noses up at a chicken tikka.
Now, everyone is entitled to their opinion and we’re not necessarily saying korma is a fundamentally bad curry, but it’s hardly ahead of favourites like a jalfrezi, a rogan josh or Smithy’s beloved bhunas — or so we thought.
In fact, sod it, we side with Smithy’s take on korma:
Strong order, to be fair.
Emma Stockman, a spokesperson for the food delivery service, said, “It is clear that curry is a staple dish when it comes to the UK’s takeaway favourites”, and that their findings “did not disappoint”.
Which results are you reading, Emma?
As explained, the long-reigning number one, chicken tikka, has dropped to second behind korma and chicken madras rounds off the top three when it comes to Britain’s favourite curry.
Despite us Mancs boasting the world-famous ‘Curry Mile’, the stats also supposedly showed that Carlisle was the city that ordered the most curry anywhere in the UK, averaging out at 3.5 times a week.
Meanwhile, 0161 was given the nickname ‘Naanchester’ as we apparently order an average of two naan breads per curry compared to other regions, with plain naan being the favourite.
Just plain? Come on. If you’re ordering as vanilla as that, you’d better at least be going bottomless with the actual main event — cue Manc curry kings, Zouk:
If these numbers are to be trusted, this also begs the question as to what this means for the country’s national dish: having been chicken tikka for so long, is it now chicken korma?
Because, sorry, we’re just absolutely NOT having that…
Give it to the Sunday roast or fish and chips while you take a step back and look at what you’ve done.
Emily Sergeant -
5th October 2020 
