Note: almost every time you hear someone claim that __________phobia is the fear of __________ you should just shout out BS! Thats total BS! For example: cenosillicaphobia is the fear of an empty beer glass. First off: jamming Latin and Greek words together and throwing on the --phobia suffix does not a phobia make. In the case of cenosillicaphobia the idiots who came up with this one are jamming the following together: * ceno- / from the Greek kenos, empty * -sillica- / Probably from Latin silica, quartz or flint, (see why theyre idiots?) * -phobia- / Greek phobos, fear Youve probably already caught on why this words horrible creator is an idiot (as indicated by my, see why theyre idiots?). They took three words which, when put in order, literally translate as empty glass fear and said eh, close enough, the internet will believe it because its in Latin. Never mind that in this case, glass doesnt refer to a drinking vessel, but rather minerals with properties similar to glass. Second: this isnt how phobias work. Even if the parents of cenosillicaphobia got the etymology right (they didnt, its important that you know this, but were pretending now) theyre total jerks for taking advantage of the internets bad habit of convincing people that things are true just because theyre stated in a nice font on a cool graphic. Always remember the first rule of the interwebs: Abe Lincoln once said, the problem with internet facts is that you cant always depend on their accuracy. He posted that to his Twitter moments before Kermit the Frog shot him from the book depository in Hiroshima on that fateful day in 1776. Ahem. Even if they got the etymology right, cenosillicaphobia only translates into English as empty, glass, fear. It doesnt actually mean an actual fear that actually exists that has actually been diagnosed, studied, or is in any way recognized in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. What that means: Stating that cenosillicaphobia is the fear of an empty glass is just as valid as stating staple-gun-grizzly-berry-hailstorm-phobia is the fear of grizzly bears attacking you with staple guns during hailstorms. Its nonsensical, its not clinical, and if you read that statement and nodded your head, and then decided to share it on the internet as an interesting fact, youd simply be passing on more internet BS. So the next time you hear someone say, you know, the fear of having peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth is a real thing, its called arachibutyrophobia, remember: they are a smug idiot who likes to act like theyre the smartest person in the room. Point out their insufferable habit, mock their Mental Floss subscription, and pat yourself on the back for sticking up for the truth. Cenosillicaphobia... geez.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 08:44:07 +0000
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