What Scares South Dakotans the Most?

Earlier this year, South Dakota checked in as the fourth-least scary state in America, thanks to low numbers of unsolved homicide cases, UFO sightings, and deaths caused by animals.

And while each one of those things is pretty frightening on its own, that is not the number-one thing that folks in the Mount Rushmore State are afraid of.

Recently, BestLife looked at a study conducted by CBD company Area52, which looked at 49 of the most common fears and then cross-referenced them with Google Trends data to see which fear was searched for most in every state.

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In South Dakota, the top fear isn't spiders, snakes, or even clowns living in sewer drains. It's the fright caused by, I kid you not, holes.

It's a phenomenon known as trypophobia, which Health Online describes as:

'...a fear or disgust of closely-packed holes. People who have it feel queasy when looking at surfaces that have small holes gathered close together'.

Some of the triggers include:

• Lotus seed pods
• Honeycombs
• Strawberries
• Coral
• Aluminum metal foam
• Pomegranates
• Bubbles
• Cndensation
• Cantaloupe
• Cluster of eyes
• Animals, including, insects, amphibians, mammals, and other creatures that have spotted skin or fur

So how real is trypophobia?

Even researchers can't agree.

One 2013 study suggested that the phobia may be an extension of a biological fear of harmful things, like associating harmless items with dangerous animals.

But a 2017 study found that people who experience trypophobia don’t have a nonconscious fear of venomous creatures.

Whatever it is, people in South Dakota, Alaska, Rhode Island, and Wyoming share the fear of tightly bunched holes.

And while the usual cast of creepy items (heights, the dark, blood, needles, spiders, being alone, public speaking, and clowns) dominated the list there were a few odd fears out there among the 50 states.

In Utah, the number-one scariest thing was imperfection.

In Delaware and New Hampshire, it was vomit.

While folks in Maine are most afraid of being without their phones.