8 Ways Evolution Has Made You Terrified Of Everything

8. Needles: Bee Stings

There's actually no real reason to be afraid of needles. They don't really hurt and, most of the time, they're actually beneficial when it comes to things like vaccinations. Despite this, it is estimated that as many as 1 in 5 people have a fear of needles, and 1 in 10 have a full on, debilitating phobia. The reason for this is buried in the deep, dark past, before the invention of bug sprays and mosquito nets, and humans were vulnerable to all kinds of biting and stinging bugs. We have basically learnt to associated that slightly unpleasant sensation of a sting or injection, with the potential to be dosed with some kind of venom. Much like injections, bee stings aren't actually, objectively, all that painful either, but people still wig out with there happens to be a bee within 10 feet of them at a picnic. We know bees won't really do us much harm, but the thing about evolutionary instincts is that they're a bit of an "all or nothing" kind of deal. It's much safer to assume that everything is about to kill you, than to hang around long enough for it to actually kill you whilst you figure it out. It is this tendency to overreacted that causes needles to fall into the category of "I hate it and I don't know why", just incase it does turn out to be a deadly spider bite.