Swearing Campaign by Chiara Broggi
“Due to an experiment done in 2009 at Keele University, it’s been found that swearing helps people better tolerate pain by provoking an emotional response to “stress-indulged” analgesia. Hence my decision to turn the most used swear words, into painkillers.”
I watched Brian Blessed demonstrate this in “Fry’s Planet Word”, a documentary hosted by, natch, Stephen Fry. And of course the sequence is on YouTube…
(There are other, longer sequences, including one where he really lets rip with what he said to a neighbour who threatened to tell his Mum he’d just said “bollocks!” He gave her rather more than she bargained for: “Go and repeat that to my mother…” Listen with headphones or in privacy only, for heaven’s sake.)
It’s been ages since I saw this show, but IIRC he first put his left hand into the tank of ice-water, wasn’t allowed to swear to relieve his feelings, and had to take the hand out again much more quickly.
(via theladyem)
