I swear

In a new study that’s being called a triumph for cab drivers and dockworkers everywhere,researchers have found that swearing profusely can actually help alleviate physical pain.

64 students at Keele University were asked to submerge their hands in ice water for as long as they could while shouting a series of expletives. For comparison, they performed the same task again while repeating non-offensive words used to describe a table. On average, the subjects were able to keep their hands in the ice water for 40 seconds longer while cursing.

“Swearing is quite an emotional form of language, and it is an almost universal human linguistic phenomenon,” said Dr. Richard Stephens, the conductor of the study. “In the volunteers who swore, we also found they had an elevated heart rate, so it could be increasing their aggression levels. Increased aggression has been shown to reduce people’s sensitivity to pain, so it could be swearing is helping this process.”

Up next for Stephens, studying to effects of washing his students’ mouths out with soap.

Jul 13th 2009 By Nick Prueher

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