Swearing Science

Swearing Science Researching the psychology of swearing & taboo language at the University of Reading.

Our work explores how swearing influences pain, emotion, cognition, and behaviour. Rudy, our hot air balloon mascot, helps bring psychological science to the public.

Huge thank you to everyone involved with Swindon Balloon Festival for making Rudy's first outing so enjoyable. 🧡While th...
05/07/2026

Huge thank you to everyone involved with Swindon Balloon Festival for making Rudy's first outing so enjoyable. 🧡

While the wind may have deflated our hope of flying Rudy this weekend, we were able to spend Friday and Saturday meeting members of the public, discussing the lab's research, and taking part in both night glows (where the burners are switched on in time to music to create a stunning visual spectacle. Usually, it's done with the envelope - the fabric part of the balloon - inflated so it glows like a giant light bulb, but the winds just stubbornly refused to die out to let us safely do this, meaning we were limited to baskets only).

Sunday morning did see a reduction in the wind speed and while it was still a little too brisk for Rudy to safely free fly he did manage to be inflated for the very first time! 📣 Wake Up Rudy!

Thank you to Lee and his crew at Spirit Operations for supporting us, and helping out with our tether this morning!

We'll release details of 'Rudy On Tour' soon, we look forward to meeting you all over the coming months!

Meet Chris Dobson - PhD student, swearing scientist, and (when the weather allows) hot air balloon pilot.Chris is a PhD ...
04/07/2026

Meet Chris Dobson - PhD student, swearing scientist, and (when the weather allows) hot air balloon pilot.

Chris is a PhD student researching the psychology of swearing; specifically, the words we say in response to pain and whether swearing helps us tolerate painful situations by changing how we perceive the passing of time. His journey to ‘swearing scientist’ was quite accidental. When COVID lockdowns stopped in-person testing, derailing his undergraduate project plans, Chris stumbled across Dr Emma Byrne’s book on the amazing science of bad language and, after some strong advocacy for academic freedom of speech, a new research path was born.

Fast forward 2 years Chris, Prof. Phil Beaman and Dr Rich Harrison start the Swearing Science Lab, bringing together their collective expertise in cognitive psychology, acute and chronic pain and, importantly, swearing. Chris has presented the lab’s work at conferences around the UK engaging the public, academics, and media representatives alike.

Away from the lab, Chris can be found flying Rudy, the lab’s hot air balloon. Before his career in academia, Chris actually made a living from ballooning. Having grown up around balloons (his father was flying them before he was born) Chris learnt to fly as soon as he could reach the burner. 22 years and a pilot's licence later, he’s flown everything from tiny, one-person balloons (where the basket is swapped for a seat) to giant special shapes like the Churchill Dog and MJ Ballooning’s Slick the Dragon. He’s also designed over 300 hot air balloon concepts for corporate clients worldwide and even created a YouTube channel where you can watch in-flight footage from some of his flights.

This time tomorrow, weather permitting, Rudy should be making his first flight from the Swindon Balloon Festival - so we...
02/07/2026

This time tomorrow, weather permitting, Rudy should be making his first flight from the Swindon Balloon Festival - so we thought it was time we explained why he exists!

The Swearing Science Lab is running what we hope will be the world's biggest ever survey on , as we try to work out what actually makes a swear word... a swear word. And what better way to launch the world's biggest survey on swearing than with a very big, bright orange, hot air balloon! 🎈🧡

We're aiming to recruit 10,000 people to rate over 100 words on things like their offensiveness, tabooness, and how likely you'd be to say them in response to pain 🤬 Everyone who takes part will be entered into a prize draw 🎁

👉 Take part now: swearingscience.co.uk/takepart

And if you're in this weekend, keep your eyes on the skies! If you spot Rudy floating by, take a pic and tag us using ! 📸🎈

Tag a friend and help make this survey as big as Rudy!👇

🤔⁉️ Did You Know...? ⁉️🤔There are some amazingly fun facts about swearing, and as Rudy is heading to the Swindon Balloon...
01/07/2026

🤔⁉️ Did You Know...? ⁉️🤔

There are some amazingly fun facts about swearing, and as Rudy is heading to the Swindon Balloon Festival this weekend (a great family day out) this one seems perfect:

Children can start using swear words as young as age 2, and by the time they're 11 or 12, their "swear vocabulary" can be similar to an adult's! 😳

If you're heading to the Swindon Balloon Festival this weekend let us know, and if you see Rudy, we'd love to see your photos - just use

Follow us for more fun facts about swearing, we've got loads more to share over the coming months!

We're thrilled to announce that Rudy, the Swearing Science Lab hot air balloon, will be taking to the skies for the very...
30/06/2026

We're thrilled to announce that Rudy, the Swearing Science Lab hot air balloon, will be taking to the skies for the very first time this weekend (weather permitting, of course).

Rudy's heading to Swindon for the Swindon Balloon Festival, taking place 3rd–4th July at Lydiard Park. Come say hi, meet Rudy and the team, and help him on his mission to discover what makes a swear word... a swear word — by taking part in the UK's biggest survey on swearing ever conducted: swearingscience.co.uk/takepart

A huge thank you to everyone at the Swindon Balloon Festival for giving Rudy such a warm welcome. We really appreciate the opportunity to share our research with the festival visitors and are looking forward to an unforgettable weekend.

Every good research lab needs a mascot and we’re no different. Meet Rudy. 👋He might have started as a symbol on a screen...
28/06/2026

Every good research lab needs a mascot and we’re no different. Meet Rudy. 👋

He might have started as a symbol on a screen, but overtime he’s inflated, literally, into a giant hot air balloon. Standing at nearly 60 feet tall, Rudy’s on a mission. Taking our message to the skies, he’s helping us promote the world’s biggest survey into swearing while sharing our research in a unique and novel way.

If you see him around come and say hi and if you take his picture, we’d love to see it via

🔗 www.swearingscience.co.uk

Ever wondered why stubbing your toe makes you want to swear? Welcome to the Swearing Science Lab! 🤬We're a research grou...
28/06/2026

Ever wondered why stubbing your toe makes you want to swear? Welcome to the Swearing Science Lab! 🤬

We're a research group based in the School of Psychology at the University of Reading, and we're on a mission to understand the psychology of swearing and taboo language — exploring how it influences pain, emotion, cognition, and behaviour.

The lab was established in 2023 and is led by PhD researcher Chris Dobson, Dr Rich Harrison, and Professor Phil Beaman. We work across all levels of research, from undergraduate projects right up to doctoral studies.

Follow us to keep up with our latest research, findings, and the occasional well-placed expletive 👀


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University Of Reading
Reading
RG66BE

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