I’ve joked about this before, but a while back it made news that Ohio was the “sweariest” state in the US. Apparently those of us who hail from the Buckeye state swore in 1 out of every 150 phone conversations in the study. Karey & I had great fun talking about this study, peppering our words with profanities beyond what I feel comfortable printing on my blog. And while we joked about it, I wondered if there was any truth to it. Sure, I can swear (I grew up the son of a salesman who hated people, so I heard a lot of swearing), but can I really swear better than my non-Ohioan peers?

Tonight I was editing some old writing of mine, in preparation to publish it on this blog. These are old stories that I never actually published on the blog, and I figured I might as well put them up as a sort of reminiscing over my childhood. And you know what? I had to edit that article something fierce! It sounded exactly like I would tell a story, not as I would print a story (since I like to keep my editorial tone on here G rated as much as possible). I suppose there is something to that study – if left to my native tongue, I will unleash a string of profanity quite epic. Next time I joke with my students that I’m showing amazing restraint by not swearing in my lectures, I suppose I might not be exaggerating!