Snakes, heights and public speaking are the top three fears in the Home of the Brave
By now most of us don't need to check under the bed for monsters before we go to sleep, but that doesn't mean that we've grown out of all of our fears.
YouGov asked a thousand American adults how much various common fears scare them. Snakes (64%) are the most likely thing to make Americans at least a little afraid, followed up by heights (57%) and public speaking (56%). Just under a third of the country (32%) is 'very afraid' of snakes. Americans are least afraid of clowns (13%) and dogs (17%), though 5% of the public do say that clowns make them 'very afraid'.
Older Americans are significantly more afraid of snakes than younger Americans. 79% of over-65s are scared of snakes, compared to 61% of under-30s. 65% of under-30s are scared of spiders, though, while only 49% of over-65s are scared of the eight-legged creatures.
In the UK, the top fears are similar but in a different order: heights (57%), followed by public speaking (56%) and snakes (52%).
Full poll results can be found here.
