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32 Facts About Common Fears That Might Actually Make You Feel Better

By:: Cracked Writers; Brian C. Miller

June 01, 2022

32 Facts About Common Fears That Might Actually Make You Feel Better

My wife is afraid of sharks.

I don't mean to say that “she doesn't like the idea of sharks” or “she's kind of spooked by them”-- I mean even a playful, cartoon-y image of a baby shark singing an obnoxious nursey rhyme about the generations of their whole little cartoon shark family sends her into a very real anxious spiral. Sure, she's basically 100% guaranteed to not encounter a shark while on land, but it doesn't make the fear she experiences any less real. I showed her a few entries on this list-- a few facts that demonstrate that several mundane things are more likely to cause her harm than a shark… But she just punched me in the arm and yelled at me for showing her a listicle with pictures of sharks on it.

So, these facts didn't help her much… But maybe they'll help calm YOUR irrational fear of.. whatever it is that you're afraid of.

32 Home Invaders

CRACKED.COM HOME INVASION. THE PROSPECT IS SCARY. I MUST GET A GUN TO PROTECT MY FAMILY FROM INTRUDERS! YOU'D BE BETTER OFF SHOOTING YOUR STAIRCASE. About 400 people die every year in the U.S. during burglaries-compared to 2,500 who are killed by stairs. — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

31 Hornets

THAT BUZZING SOUNDS LIKE A PORTENT OF DOOM. AAHHH! A HORNET! GET IT AWAY! YOU ARE... We're not gonna lie: Hornets, bees, and SOMEWHAT wasps can be dangerous. RIGHT. They kill 60 Americans every year. Still, that's 60 out of 300 million. CRACKED.COM — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

30 Plane Crashes

CRACKED.COM THE ENGINES STOP. THE GROUND GETS CLOSER. WE'RE GOING DOWN! GOODBYE WORLD! CHANCES ARE GOOD Believe it or YOU'LL SURVIVE. not, 90% of people involved in plane crashes make it out alive. — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

29 Ebola

CRACKED.COM THE MEDIA LOVE THEM THEIR EPIDEMICS, DON'T THEY? AAHHH! WHAT IF I DIE FROM EBOLA? YOU ARE LITERALLY LIKELIER TO DATE TAYLOR SWIFT. Only two people have died from Ebola in the U.S.-1/5th of the number that have dated Swift. — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

28 Dog Attacks

CRACKED.COM GRRR! WOOF! WOOF! YOU HEAR. OH, NO! AN ANGRY DOG! I'M DEAD MEAT! Fatal dog attacks are very rare. You are 20 YOU TOTALLY times more likely to SHOULDN'T BOTHER die from heat PISSED-OFF DOGS, BUT... stroke. — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

27 Earthquakes

CRACKED.COM ONE DAY THE VERY GROUND YOU WALK ON BETRAYS YOU. 'EARTHQUAKE!! WE'RE DOOMED! An EXCEPT... earthquake is certainly terrifying, but modern construction standards make the chances of dying vanishingly small. — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

26 Children Being Kidnapped

ARE YOUR CHILDREN SAFE OUT THERE? DON'T PLAY OUTSIDE! A STRANGER WILL KIDNAP YOU! THAT'S VERY UNLIKELY. Few children are kidnapped by strangers. Most kidnappings are committed by friends or family members. CRACKED.COM — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

25 The Mentally Ill

GRAGKED.COM YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD: MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE ARE DANGEROUS! ACTUALLY... Mental illness doubles your chances of being the victim of violence, not its perpetrator. — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

24 Traffic Fatalities

IT'S HELL OUT THERE, ISN'T IT? LOOK BOTH WAYS! USE YOUR SEAT BELT! STREETS ARE DANGEROUS! M WHILE THAT'S TRUE... Traffic fatalities today are lower than in previous decades, despite the higher number of cars on the road. CRACKED.COM — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

23 Spiders & Corks

CRACKED.COM YOU TURN ON THE LIGHT AND... AAHHH! A SPIDER! More people die every year from being hit by flying champagne DO YOU FEAR corks than from spider bites. CORKS TOO? — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

22 Priests

GRACKED.COM BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN WATCHING THE NEWS... LOOK! A PRIEST! GET AWAY FROM MY CHILDREN, YOU PERVERT! INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES ASIDE... Individual Catholic priests aren't statistically more likely than other people to be pedophiles. — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

21 Being Struck By Lightning

CRACKED.COM LIGHTNING! TAKE COVER! YOU DON'T WANT TO BE STRUCK, DO YOU? While taking cover is a good idea, PENS ARE you are more likely to die choking on a pen cap DEADLIER. than by being struck by lightning. — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

20 Overpopulation

CRACKED. COM SCARED OF OVERPOPULATION? DON'T BE. WITH THE POPULATION DENSITY OF NEW YORK, EVERY HUMAN ON EARTH, AROUND 7 BILLION, COULD COMFORTABLY FIT IN THE U.S. STATE OF TEXAS. — Source: 25 Mythbusting Facts About Widespread Fears

19 Heights

Afraid of Heights? Take solace in knowing that Vesna Vulović survived a 33,330 ft drop out of an airplane after it fell apart in 1972. She hit the ground at terminal velocity (the fastest you can possibly fall) and she is one of several people GRAGKED.COM to do so. — Source: 25 Mythbusting Facts About Widespread Fears

18 Vending Machines & Sharks

GRACKED.COM 8 RC ROYAL CROWN COLA MORE PEOPLE ARE KILLED BY VENDING MACHINE THAN BY SHARKS — Source: 25 Mythbusting Facts About Widespread Fears

17 Deer

EVERY. YEAR CRACKED COM DEER KILL MORE PEOPLE THAN BEARS DOGS WOLVES ALLIGATORS SHARKS, SPIDERS, BEES, WASPS, SCORPIONS AND SNAKES COMBINED — Source: 25 Mythbusting Facts About Widespread Fears

16 Rats

CRACKED.COM Rats in Tanzania are being trained to detect landmines* and tuberculosis. They're called HERO RATS. The rats aren't harmed by the mines. — Source: 25 Mythbusting Facts About Widespread Fears

15 Vampire Bats

CRACKED COM WINGED SHADOWS BLOT OUT THE STARS. VAMPIRES! VAMPIRES WILL DRINK YOUR BLOOD! Vampire bats rarely ever bite humans, and even WELL... when they do, they barely cause any harm. — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

14 Phones & Gas Pumps

CRACKED.COM YOU'RE TALKING WITH YOUR DAD WHILE PUMPING GAS, WHEN... HANG UP THAT DAMN PHONE! IT'LL CAUSE AN EXPLOSION! Not NO, IT WON'T. only there is no evidence that this can happen, but researchers have tried to do it on purpose and failed. — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

13 MSG & "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome"

YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD ABOUT THAT MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE THING. DON'T EAT AT CHINESE RESTAURANTS! YOU'LL BE POISONED! NO, YOU WON'T. 40 years of clinical trials have found no correlation between MSG and supposed Chinese restaurant syndrome. CRACKED.COM — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

12 Snake Bites

GRACKED.COM EITHER IN GRASSLANDS OR IN THE DESERT... WATCH YOUR STEP! SNAKES ARE LURKING! You can rest assured that in the BY ALL MEANS U.S., only five people TAKE PRECAUTIONS, die from snake bites BUT... every year. — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

11 Opening an Airplane Exit

CRACKED.COM AN AIRPLANE'S EXIT LOOKS KINDA WORRYING, DOESN'T IT? WHAT IF SOMEONE OPENS IT MID-FLIGHT? IT JUST CAN'T HAPPEN. Cabin pressure keeps the door tightly shut. You'd have IBERIA to be Superman- strong to open it. RERIA — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

10 Gator Attacks

WHILE IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHEAST... BEWARE OF THE GATORS! Even EXCEPT THAT in alligator country, attacks ATTACKS amount to no more ARE VERY RARE. than 0.06 per 100,000 people in a year. CRACKED.COM — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

9 Military Deaths vs U.S Gun Violence

HAVE A LOVED ONE SERVING OVERSEAS THAT YOU WORRY ABOUT? COULD BE WORSE... THEY COULD BE HERE. MORE PEOPLE ARE KILLED IN THE U.S. BY FIREARMS EVERY YEAR THAN HAVE BEEN LOST IN BOTH THE IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN WARS SINCE THEY STARTED IN 2001 AND 2003. CRACKED.COM — Source: 25 Mythbusting Facts About Widespread Fears

8 Tarantulas

CRACKED.COM No tarantula has been known to have a bite that is deadly to humans. The amount of venom wouldn't even be comparable to a bee-sting. They're basically furry little eight legged cats. — Source: 25 Mythbusting Facts About Widespread Fears

7 Spiders

After the devastating tsunami that struck Japan in 2011 the spiders that lived on the ground were forced to retreat into the trees, where their webs covered entire forests in nightmare fuel. One of the greatest public health fears was an outbreak of malaria, which never happened, because those spiders straight up murdered all the mosquitos trying to spread it. Thanks for looking out for us, spider buddies! CRACKED COM — Source: 25 Mythbusting Facts About Widespread Fears

6 Plane Turbulence

32 Facts About Common Fears That Might Actually Make You Feel Better — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

5 Terrorists vs Babies

PEOPLE THINK: TERRORISTS WILL KILL US ALL! YOU SHOULD FEAR In the U.S., way BABIES MORE. more people are killed by toddlers getting their hands on guns than by terrorists. CRACKED.COM — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

4 Shark Deaths vs Pig Deaths

THE BEACH IS GREAT, BUT... GET OUT OF THE WATER! A SHARK WILL GET YOU! PIGS ARE A Sharks kill just BIGGER THREAT. one person every year in the U.S. - much fewer than pigs or other farm animals. CRACKED.COM — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

3 Swarming Bees

YOU'RE STROLLING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE WHEN SUDDENLY... GOOD HEAVENS! SO! MANY! BEES! DON'T FEAR! Bees are at their least aggressive when they're swarming, as they have no hive to protect. CRACKED.COM — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

2 Viruses from Porn Websites

ARE YOU SECURITY-MINDED? DON'T BROWSE PORN! YOU'LL GET A VIRUS! IT'S Church CHURCHES websites are three YOU SHOULD times more likely than WORRY porn sites to be infected, as they're maintained by ABOUT. volunteers with little experience. CRACKED.COM — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

1 Pollution from Cooling Towers

DO YOU SEE THIS STUFF COMING OUT OF THE COOLING TOWER? POLLUTION! RADIATION! DEATH! That stuff is just RELAX! water vapor- nothing but harmless steam. CRACKED.COM — Source: Real Facts That Make Common Fears Less Scary

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