Every person is terrified of something. People in Illinois have a fear more common than folks in other states which leads to this burning question: why?

To have a phobia isn't unusual, but some phobias are more common than others. If you want to scare the pants off of an Illinoisan or keep them away, you'll want to keep a lighter or book of matches in your back pocket

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Most Common Fear In The U.S.

To know someone's true fear is a great way to get back at your worst enemy or be a really big jerk. Either way, there is something in all of us that freaks us out. A new study from e-conolight shows what scares people the most in each state.

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If being in a tight space with no way to escape makes you start to breathe heavily or scares you to death, you're not alone. The study shows that Claustrophobia is the most common phobia in the U.S. Iowa is one of the 10 states that has that as its biggest fear.

This Is The Weirdest Phobia

The weirdest phobia comes out of Utah. Folks there have Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, a fear of long words ironically enough.

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After surveying 2,000 people, the study found that Obeseophobia was the second most common phobia with three states claiming it as their biggest fear. That's the fear of gaining weight

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Illinois Can't Stand The Heat

That's because the thing they fear the most is what creates heat. If you're in Illinois and want to scare someone from there, just pull out your lighter and light it because Illinois has a serious Pyrophobia problem.

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Pyrophobia is the fear of fire. This study doesn't tell us why each state has its fears, but it's hard to pinpoint why Illinois is terrified of fire. They don't have really any forest fires. Maybe it's because people from Iowa are burning them with their words too much.

Fire is terrifying, but more terrifying than bugs, being in tight spaces, or blood? I don't think so.

See what people in other states have a phobia of below:

Econolight
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