Why the #$%! Do We Swear? For Pain Relief

Scientific American by Frederik Joelving | Jul. 12, 2009 (Special Report)

Bad language could be good for you, a new study shows. For the first time, psychologists have found that swearing may serve an important function in relieving pain.

The study, published today in the journal NeuroReport, measured how long college students could keep their hands immersed in cold water. During the chilly exercise, they could repeat an expletive of their choice or chant a neutral word. When swearing, the 67 student volunteers reported ... Full Story »

Posted by Leo Romero - via Scientific American

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by Milo Smith - Jul. 14, 2009

I'm generally pretty hard on popular science publications - it is so easy to screw up the essential job they have of relaying important scientific information to the public. Overly "dumbing down" of articles, misrepresentation of scientific data, and author ignorance plague pop scientific writing. This article is on the below-average side of pop science writing.