Here are some really @)$#%&! interesting facts about curse words:

• Swearing can help you endure pain.  A researcher at Keele University in the UK ran a study whereby 67 college students put their hands in ice water.  One group of students yelled swear words while holding their hands in the water while the control group did not swear.  The group that used profanity was able to keep their hands in the water for 40 seconds longer.

• A new study has found use of profanity is associated with less lying and deception on the individual level and that on a societal level those states whose residents swear more have higher scores of state-level integrity. Details on this fascinating study can be found here: https://www.academia.edu/29725191/Frankly_we_do_give_a_damn_The_relationship_between_profanity_and_honesty?auto=download

• The average person swears quite a bit.  On average about 0.7% of the words a person speaks in a day are swear words.  The range is from 0%-3%. As a point of reference, first person plural pronouns make up around 1%.

• A child typically learn a swear word prior to learning the alphabet.  By age two a child usually knows one swear word, by ages three and four they usually know a few.

• The word “sh*t” has been around for more than 1,000 years.