
Why the #$% Do We Swear? For Pain Relief - soundsop
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-do-we-swear
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HoneyAndSilicon
An actual, controlled study using the classic "cold-pressor" test (hand in icy
water):

"When swearing, the 67 student volunteers reported less pain and on average
endured about 40 seconds longer."

As to the "why"/mechanisms... just the authors' speculations at this point.

