Fun Fact Friday #7: Friday Is For Phobias

Time for another of our semi-regular Friday quizzes... and this one's all about fear. 

Here are ten real life phobias... but if you've got them, what are you afraid of?

1. What is triskaidekaphobia?

A) Fear of tricycles

B) Fear of the number 13

C) Fear of kaleidoscopes

The Divine Comedy - The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count

2. What is arachibutyrophobia?

A) Fear of spiders’ webs.

B) Fear of people called Rachel.

C) Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.

Neil Diamond - Fear Of The Marketplace

3. Adele has “laridophobia”. What is she afraid of?

A) Seagulls.

B) Pineapples.

C) Tripping over in the street.

LiveOnRelease - I'm Afraid Of Britney Spears

4. What is nomophobia?

A) Fear of being without your mobile phone.

B) Fear of being called by the wrong name.

C) Fear of mops.

Peter Bruntnell - Fear Of Lightning

5. What is pogonophobia?

 A) Fear of pogo sticks.

 B) Fear of the internet.

 C) Fear of beards.

Culture Club - I'm Afraid Of Me

6. Ozzy Osborne had “musophobia”. What was he afraid of?

A) Music critics.

B) Motorways.

C) Rats.

Love of Everything - Fear Of Missing Out

7. What is mortuusequusphobia?

 A) The fear of queues.

 B) The fear of daffodils.

 C) The fear of tomato ketchup.

Misery Addict - I'm Afraid of Cilla Black

8. What is kakorrhaphiophobia?

The fear of lightning.

The fear of failure.

The fear of getting out of the wrong side of the bed.

Manic Street Preachers - Fear Of Motion

9. Kylie Minogue has “kremastraphobia”. What is she afraid of?

A) Elevators.

B) Dizziness.

C) Coathangers.

The Strokes - Fear Of Sleep

10. What is anatidaephobia?

A) The fear of pipes.

B) The fear of curtains blowing in the wind.

C) The fear that a duck is watching you.

Magnetic Fields - Fear Of Trains

Jackie Leven - Fear Of Women

American Aquarium - The Fear Of Standing Still

Snapshots #432: Jewellery Songs

It’s time to get your bling on – just like Mr. T!

 

15. Prince - get on top!

“Get on top” comes from the Prince song Cream.

Cream - Badge

Yes, a badge can be considered jewellery. I asked the AI.

14. When your briefs fail, they’re probably just tangled up.

“Briefs fail” was an anagram.

Labi Siffre – Watch Me

Yes, a watch can be considered jewellery. I asked the AI.

13. Sleepy summit.

Zzzzz, top.

Picture from the ZZ Top cameo in Back to the Future Part 3.

ZZ Top – Pearl Necklace

12. I bought a Joni Mitchell album and a U2 album, and played them back to back.

The Joni album was Blue. The U2 album was Boy.

Blueboy – Candy Bracelet

11. Have you ever heard the Egg Eye LP? It caused quite a stir.

“Egg Eye LP” was obviously an anagram.

Peggy Lee – Baubles, Bangles & Beads

10. What is The Matrix?

The Grid - Crystal Clear

9. Hartman was a cold, hard, determined fellow.

Dan Hartman was a Steely chap.

Steely Dan – Green Earrings

8. Cancel?

Culture Club - The Medal Song

7. Frasier & Niles.

The Cranes – Jewel

6. Mr. T led a charmed life, in minus 50 conditions, with his bird of prey.

Lucky, without L, with a T… and a buzzard. Whatever.

Tucky Buzzard – Gold Medallions

5. All I really want to do is be an Old Man… or a New Man.

 

Gary Oldman & Gary Numan want to join The Byrds.

Gary Byrd & The GB Experience - The Crown

4. After a while, Ms. Turner would only perform in Stadiums.

Tina Arena - Chains

3. Ancient Biblical leader is all back to front.

King Solomon in reverse.

Solomon King – She Wears My Ring

2. He used to lisp severely until they straightened him out.

“Lisp severely” was an anagram.

Elvis Presley - Good Luck Charm

1. That time you finished a bottle of WKD in LA, and it was No Good.

No, it’s not Tony Hadley.

WKD in LA, and it was No Good.

kd lang – Miss Chatelaine

Bling yourself back here next Saturday for more jewels!

Saturday Snapshots #172 - Top Ten Hurt Songs

 

"Will there be pics of cuddly lickle kitty-kats next Saturday?" Lynchie asked last week.

Not on Saturday, no.

The link this week was pretty easy, I thought. No apologies for featuring REM two weeks running... those are the rules now.

A TOP TEN HURT SONGS

10. Smiley society.

Smiley Culture's Club?

Culture Club - Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?

Boy George let himself go a few years back, but he's looking pretty sharp now. 

9. Short record player found in awards ceremony bathroom.

Gramophone, shortened, in the loo at the Emmys.

Gram Parson & Emmylou Harris - Love Hurts

8. Freezing factory.

Icicle Works - Melanie Still Hurts

7. Empty method, end in a bra. 

A method is a way. If it's empty, it's hollow.

Put end in bra and you get Br-end-a.

Brenda Holloway - Every Little Bit Hurts

Or...

Brenda Holloway - Hurt A Little Every Day

Or...

Brenda Holloway - Starting The Hurt All Over Again

Blimey. Brenda had a lot of hurt.

6. Light sleep, vivid dreams.

That would be REM sleep.

REM - Everybody Hurts

5. Smelly Spider-Man.

"Skunk Anansie" is taken from Akan folk tales of Anansi the spider-man of Ghana, with "Skunk" added to "make the name nastier". Or smellier.

Skunk Anansie - Twisted (Everyday Hurts)

4. Grounded since 2003.

The Concorde was grounded in 2003.

I'm crying tears of a rapper...

Flight of the Conchords - Hurt Feelings

3. Anchorman college jump.

Anagram!

John Cougar Mellencamp - Hurts So Good

(Makes those Robert Palmer videos everybody complained about look tame.)

2. Distant Arnold.

Another anagram!

Linda Ronstadt - Hurts So Bad

1. Paycheck not accepted for lengthy manicure.

If Johnny won't use a paycheck for his Nine Inch Nail, I guess he'll have to pay Cash.

Don't hurt too much - Saturday Snapshots will be back to soothe your pain next week... maybe with added cuddly lickle kitty-kats, who can say?

The Top Ten Songs I Hated When I Was A Kid #4

4. Culture Club - Karma Chameleon

When I started this series, I knew I'd have to write about this song... and I knew it would involve confessing to something I'm now pretty ashamed of.

I was a homophobic child.

There's no getting away from this fact. Like many of my age in the 80s, I viewed gay people with suspicion and said some pretty horrible things about them, through blind ignorance. It was only when I started working in radio (at 16) that I ended up meeting a lot of gay people, some of whom would become close, long term friends (three of the best friends I've had over the last 30 years, in fact) that my eyes were opened and my prejudice washed away.

But before that, there was Boy George.

I was 11 when Karma Chameleon hit the top of the charts and I hated it. Because there was George, a Boy dressed like a girl, and I really didn't like it. I can't take full responsibility for that: it was the attitude of the times, and only through the outspoken work of openly gay pop stars like George and Jimmy Sommerville did people's attitudes finally start to change. It would be a good few years before George Michael or Freddie Mercury (both of whom I adored back then) officially came out. And it took Barry Manilow till LAST WEEK to finally admit it. I realise now the horrible irony of hating a song which is essentially about accepting people without prejudice... because I was prejudiced myself. But at 11, it's hard to see the forest for the trees,

Having just listened to Karma Chameleon all the way through for the first time in ages, maybe the song has finally grown on me, as well as the message. Love that harmonica...

My Top Ten Gymnastic Songs

10. Jill Sobule - Lucy At The Gym

OK, so strictly speaking, Lucy doesn't actually appear to be doing gymnastics at the
gym. But look at her ribs - they show through the spandex. And she's working so hard... to conquer her loneliness. Give her a break, will you?

9. Culture Club - I'll Tumble 4 Ya

Culture Club are one of those bands I hated at the time, yet I've grown to nostalgically respect over the years.

8. Dobie Gray - Out On The Floor

Classic Northern Soul belter.

7. The Divine Comedy - Can You Stand Upon One Leg?

(It's harder than you think.)

6. Depeche Mode - Get The Balance Right

You think you've got a hold of it all
You haven't got a hold at all
When you reach the top, get ready to drop
Prepare yourself for the fall, you're gonna fall

Nothing like a positive mental attitude.

5. David Bowie - Boys Keep Swinging

Worth watching the video to the end if you're a Kenny Everett fan.

4. Rocket From The Crypt - On A Rope

The video features puppies and goats. Not quite as rock 'n' roll as the song suggests.

3. Maximo Park - Acrobat

One of my favourites from this mob, perhaps because it reminds me of Belong by R.E.M.

I am not an acrobat,
I cannot perform these tricks for you,
Losing all my balance,
Falling from a wire made for you

2. Chairlift - Bruises

I tried to do handstands for you
But every time I fell on you

1. The Beatles - Twist & Shout

This is the first time I've ever given a Beatles song the Number One position, but while this may not be a Lennon & McCartney original, theirs is still the definitive version. I blame Ferris Bueller...



Those were my gymnastic classics... which one gets a 10.0 from you judges?