Word: panic
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...that was enough to cause a minor panic in the English department who feared the loss of Russian novels, Greek classics and linguistic books. Professor of English Lawrence Buell posted a memo on the English department's building reminding scholars to untag books in the P through PF section that they didn't want to leave the Yard...
...precarious balancing act: they must maintain a healthy level of fear in people and yet keep them from slipping into either complacency or terror. That job is especially difficult in these days of the AIDS plague, which has become the most frightening and confusing health problem since the polio panic of the 1950s. While some Americans have smugly assumed they are perfectly safe, others have mistakenly fretted that they could pick up HIV (the AIDS virus) from toilet seats or mosquito bites. Throughout the crisis, specialists have offered strong reassurance: if people are careful about sex and avoid shooting drugs...
...would say, with physiological confidence, that if a man doesn't want to have sex, he can't be tied down and forced. Human anatomy provides him a special protection. But there are sex therapists who dispute this notion; some point to "masochistic titillation," while others speculate that panic, along with fear of bodily harm, does not necessarily rule out sexual arousal and may even increase it in some cases...
...BACTERIA PANIC. The medical version of Old Maid deals out "sickness cards" illustrated with grisly images of ringworm, gonorrhea and -- for the big loser -- AIDS. But widespread outrage is forcing the Japanese manufacturer to pull the game off the shelves...
Cherish the memory. The all-American egg breakfast has become as strong a social taboo as smoking a fat stogie in a crowded elevator. Cholesterol fears initially scrambled the egg industry, but the real threat is the current panic over salmonella. This toxic raw-egg bacteria caused more than 2,000 cases of food poisoning in the U.S. last year. As Gourmet magazine declared, "Dishes made with raw or undercooked eggs -- Caesar salad and eggs Benedict -- are in danger of becoming extinct...