I disagree, to work on cars, one has to have a fulsome arsenal of obscenities, profanities, vulgarities, oaths, curses, threats and insults.
There have been scientific studies that have indicated, there are many benefits to a well chosen and timed swear.
These include:
- Peak Strength. An increase in peak strength (useful when you're swinging on that breaker bar)
- Pain relief. Swearing activates the so-called ‘fight or flight’ response, leading to a surge of adrenaline and a subsequent pain relieving effect on our immune system. (handy when that bloody breaker bar slips and you skin your knuckles)
- Non-violent Outlet. Swearing enables us to get back at bad people or situations without having to resort to traditional violence, or something more menacing or harmful. It can be considered an act of sublimation, whereby we channel our anger by swearing instead, in what is seen as a ‘healthier’ outlet to help release our negative emotions. (Though the psychological benefits of taking to a stubborn and uncooperative inanimate object with a 2kg mash hammer are not to be under estimated!)
- Harmless & Humorous Coping Mechanism. This coping mechanism, although far from a great one, can serve to increase our sense of self esteem, when it seems deflated, threatened or attacked. This in turn helps to build our inner resilience, and confidence in the midst of perceived tension and stress. (your inner self believes it will overcome that bastard bolt)
- Assertion of Power/Control. Swearing can give us a greater sense of power and control over a bad or negative situation. By swearing we show that we have the power to control a situation, and not have the situation control us. This usually happens, ironically, when things are spinning out of control for us, and when things are not necessarily going our way. A person need not be the actual trigger for swearing to occur, but a particular unpleasant situation can be the trigger. (You are the master of the machine, it is not the master of you. and it better not not forget it......see previous reference to 2kg mash hammer)