Fear – Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes (1905-1976), famous American film producer and aviator, was known for his fear of infection and bacteria. That fear separated him from people, and because of it, he suffered a nervous breakdown in 1958.

From then and on, Hughes lived in a little house, in the desert near Las Vegas. His only friends were Mormons who lived next door and whose job was to protect him from infections.

Fearing that in his house were too many bacteria (curious tourists were constantly trying to have a look at that place), Howard Hughes began to move from one hotel to another. He had a habit to request a new room late at night, and in some hotels, several times in one night. The first thing he always did when he entered the hotel room was sealing doors and windows with plastic. He fed almost exclusively with chocolates.

When the owner of Desert Inn Hotel in Las Vegas, where Hughes lived in 1966, asked him to leave the hotel and to avoid further conflicts, Hughes bought it.

The hotel's eighth floor became the nerve center of his empire and the ninth-floor penthouse became Hughes' personal residence.

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Fear - Arnold Schoenberg!

Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg (13 September 1874 – 13 July 1951) suffered from triskaidekaphobia, fear of the number thirteen.

This artist (father of atonal music, as he was called) was convinced that he would die on the thirteenth day of the month, so on each such day he stayed at home, taking care of what he drank and what he eats, and sometimes he did not even get up out of bed...

 

This was the case and on 13 July 1951.

Convinced that his end was near, Schoenberg was just loafing on that day. Late that night, his wife finally said that the clock struck midnight and that it was 14 July, and went to bring him some tea.  When she returned to the room, she found her husband dead.

He died, however, on 13 July. The clock in the bedroom was not accurate. When she found him, it was 5 minutes until midnight.

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Why do all our muscles get tense when we are frightened?

 

It is a legacy from the old times, when the meeting with a threat ended with one of the only two options - hit or run.

In both cases, our body was ready for physical effort.

That is why today our heart pounds faster, our muscles tighten, we are suffused with cold sweat, and our blood pressure increases.

At the same time, all other bodily functions (e.g., welding) fall into the shade until the danger passes.

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