Bunny rabbit: Do not fear me. I am cuddly!

I found this unusual article on the Spiegel website. It concerns a German high-school teacher who has an extreme fear of bunny rabbits–just the word “rabbit” sends her into hysterics and you should see what actual pictures of the animals do to her. The teacher, called Marion V. in the piece, sued a student for spreading rumors about her fear of the long-eared mammals. She says it isn’t true, but the courts ruled that it was in fact a real phobia.

The interesting thing about phobias is that they really can take absolutely any form and it’s difficult to impossible to figure out their sources. An excerpt from the article:

“A teacher in the northern German town of Vechta lost her case Tuesday that would have put to bed the rumor that she’s afraid of rabbits. Marion V., 60, a German and geography teacher, made headlines earlier this year by accusing a 16-year-old schoolgirl of defamation, alleging that the student maliciously gossiped that V. suffers from rabbit phobia.

The defendant, named as Kim P., caused the stir by drawing a rabbit on the blackboard of V.’s classroom. Upon entering the room and seeing the drawing, V. reportedly fled from her classroom in tears.

The court dismissed V.’s claims, saying through a court spokesperson that V.’s fear of rabbits is a fact, which the defendant proved in court. If Kim P. was found guilty, she would have faced a €5,000 fine for any further incidents of rabbit drawing in front of V.”