Is Swearing More Acceptable in Certain U.S. States?

"Ohio" is a four-letter word, and according to an analysis of customer service calls, its residents know plenty of others -- and aren't afraid to use them. The advertising firm Marchex used call-mining technology to review 600,000 customer service calls placed within a one-year period, identifying certain words and phrases associated either with cursing and bad manners, or the opposite. The aim was to identify the most profane and the most polite states. After tallying the results, Marchex identified Ohio as the place where callers were least likely to hold back on the swear words. It was followed by Maryland, New Jersey, Louisiana, and Illinois. On the flip side, Washington was the state with the fewest people prone to foul-mouthed outbursts, followed by Massachusetts, Arizona, Texas, and Virginia. The research also determined that folks in South Carolina were the most courteous, while those who call Wisconsin home were deemed the least courteous.

Watch your mouth:

• Children tend to learn swear words early on, with most knowing at least one profanity before learning the alphabet.
• The average person uses some form of profanity between 80 and 90 times per day.
• It's a common misconception that Tourette's syndrome is linked to outbursts of profanity, but this is only the case with about 10% of people with Tourette's.