http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE56C1B320090713?feedType=RSS&feedName=lifestyleMolt&rpc=22&sp=true

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Cut your finger? Hurt your leg? Start swearing. It might lessen the pain.

Researchers from the school of psychology at Britain's Keele University have found swearing can make you feel better as it can have a "pain-lessening effect," according to a study published in the journal NeuroReport.

Colleagues Richard Stephens, John Atkins and Andrew Kingston, set out to establish if there was any link between swearing and physical pain.

"Swearing has been around for centuries and is an almost universal human linguistic phenomenon," says Stephens.

"It taps into emotional brain centers and appears to arise in the right brain, whereas most language production occurs in the left cerebral hemisphere of the brain. Our research shows one potential reason why swearing developed and why it persists."

Their study involved 64 volunteers who were each asked to put their hand in a tub of ice water for as long as possible while repeating a swear word of their choice.

They then repeated the experiment using a more commonplace word that they would use to describe a table.

The researchers found the volunteers were able to keep their hands in the ice water for a longer when swearing, establishing a link between swearing and an increase in pain tolerance.

Stephens said it was not clear how or why this link existed but it could be because swearing may increase aggression.

"What is clear is that swearing triggers not only an emotional response, but a physical one too, which may explain why the centuries-old practice of cursing developed and still persists today," he said.

(Writing by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Miral Fahmy)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

:woohoo:

:woohoo:
Hell ****ing yeah! party:

I heard them talking about this on the news, but I never got to see the story, so thanks for posting it. Interesting story, but it would be really interesting to know how swearing really got started and how they came up with all those words! There should be a book somewhere out there that explains it all!

Andrea

Okay, that made me crack up. :lol: But I can believe it. It's mighty hard not to swear when I accidentally hurt myself at work, though. :o

When I hurt myself the first words out of my mouth are swear words. I think thats true for most people :D

I tend to swear more if I'm in pain or in a bad mood.

**** yeah.


I ****ing love swearing :D

But if it's good for you, why do you get yelled at for swearing?

But if it's good for you, why do you get yelled at for swearing?
Beats me.

I @#$%%^^&^%^& knew it all along, (*%$*(%#%^&&*!!!:D

In that case, I know people who will live forever. :o :eek: :lol:

In that case, I know people who will live forever. :o :eek: :lol:

:rofl: Good one!

When I hurt myself the first words out of my mouth are swear words. I think thats true for most people :D

That reminds me of an exchange I heard on Hee Haw between Grandpa Jones and Archie Campbell.

Grandpa: What did Roy (Clark) say when he dropped that sledgehammer on his big toe?

Archie: You want me to leave out the cuss words?

Grandpa: Of course.

Archie: He didn't say anything. :lol:

That reminds me of an exchange I heard on Hee Haw between Grandpa Jones and Archie Campbell.

Grandpa: What did Roy (Clark) say when he dropped that sledgehammer on his big toe?

Archie: You want me to leave out the cuss words?

Grandpa: Of course.

Archie: He didn't say anything. :lol:
:lol:

According to my uncle, the only real no-no's are taking God's or Jesus' names in vain.

According to my uncle, the only real no-no's are taking God's or Jesus' names in vain.
I can understand people being offended by those words, but others not so much.

I think it comes down to where you are, and who's around when you swear. Not many people are going to swear in front of their teacher, 5-year old niece or their grandmother. An English study conducted with 64 people with their hands in ice water isn't exactly proving that swearing is socially acceptable, because it is not. This study was to show how swearing helps people deal with pain. I definitely agree with that.

**** that ****, bitch, eat a ****, chew on a *****, and lick a million ***** per second. i'd rather put out a gospel record. i'd rather be a *****-whipped bitch, ***** and have ***** glued to my face with a **** ring in my nose. then quit bringin my flows, quit giving me my ammo. can't you see why i'm so mean? if ya'll leave me alone, this wouldn't be my MO. i wouldn't have to go, eenie meenie minie mo, catch a hobo by his toe. man, i don't know no more. am i the only ****ing one who's normal any more?

(thanks, eminem. and i'll see you in court for my "plagiarism" charges.)

or their grandmother.

Not my grandmother- that's where I learned some of my first cuss words.

**** that ****, bitch, eat a ****, chew on a *****, and lick a million ***** per second. i'd rather put out a gospel record. i'd rather be a *****-whipped bitch, ***** and have ***** glued to my face with a **** ring in my nose. then quit bringin my flows, quit giving me my ammo. can't you see why i'm so mean? if ya'll leave me alone, this wouldn't be my MO. i wouldn't have to go, eenie meenie minie mo, catch a hobo by his toe. man, i don't know no more. am i the only ****ing one who's normal any more?

(thanks, eminem. and i'll see you in court for my "plagiarism" charges.)
OMG :rofl:

I like the Three Stooges routine, Disorder in the Court

Judge to Curly: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Curly: Hi, Judgy Wudgy.

Judge (now getting impatient) Do...You...Swear?

Curly: No Judgy Wudgy, but I know all the woids, nyuk, nyuk...

According to my uncle, the only real no-no's are taking God's or Jesus' names in vain.



Thats the one swear word that never comes out of my mouth unless I am really really really really :mad: Then I ask for forgivness for letting that in my mouth.

Thats the one swear word that never comes out of my mouth unless I am really really really really :mad: Then I ask for forgivness for letting that in my mouth.

Exactly! Same here.

**** it, looks like I'm in good health. Swearing becomes a really bad habit. You start out saying them just to say them and after awhile you become so immune. Most of the time I don't even notice when I swear in a sentence. There are times when it's appropriate and not.

I think it comes down to where you are, and who's around when you swear. Not many people are going to swear in front of their teacher, 5-year old niece or their grandmother. An English study conducted with 64 people with their hands in ice water isn't exactly proving that swearing is socially acceptable, because it is not. This study was to show how swearing helps people deal with pain. I definitely agree with that.

so true. i agree. if this study was carried out in a different environment and the circumstances were slightly different, then the outcome would be the complete opposite. but still, as human beings we have to treat and respect each other, without degrading others or resorting to violence, foul language, bigotry etc. also, it depends on how one is swearing and in the context that he/she is doing it. likewise, are they swearing just for fun, because it is part of a joke or an act- or are they doing it out of anger, frustration or whatever towards somebody else?

there are a lot of things to take into consideration, as well as ponder.