Have you ever fallen off a curb and hurt your leg, or gotten your finger caught in an automatic window? When you did how did you react? If you are anything like the majority of people in America you likely let out some form of expletive or profanity. Why do we do this? That is what researchers at Karoto research laboratories in Kuhmlou, Pakistan have been working on for the last six months. According to the director of pain and psychology Dr. Tsongs Tu Singh we are equipped with ways to minimize pain through speech.
According to Dr. Singh, “We have done extensive research with several groups and have concluded that a simple “Fuck you”, or “Holy Shit” has the ability to reduce pain by up to 50%.” There were several phrases and expletives yet to test, but the data on those two, in particular, was very promising.
In a study involving 100 participants, experimenters would drop a hammer on the subject’s thumb. They were asked to rate their pain on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most painful. Half were instructed to shout profane statements while the other half were threatened with additional bodily harm for making any noise whatsoever. The pain-scream group averaged a pain rating of around 5.1 while the nonverbal group on average rated their pain at 8.5.
“This shows irrefutable evidence that swearing reduces pain,” said Dr. Singh. “This is why we swear, Allah forgive us.”
