The Insider.

Frightfully unusual fears found in phobia survey THE most common phobia among South African women is not an irrational fear of snakes, frogs or even Parktown Prawns. According to financial services group Alexander Forbes, which did informal research on the subject as part of a marketing campaign for a new insurance product targeting women, it is the fear of wooden objects (known as xylophobia) that is most likely to send shivers down its potential clients' spines, especially the sticks used in ice creams and lollipops or that doctors use for throat examinations.

Originally scheduled to run until the end of September, & the campaign saw so many truly fascinating and …