MYNORTHWEST NEWS

WTF? Washington state least foul-mouthed state in America

May 15, 2013, 12:33 PM | Updated: 2:26 pm

We might not always be the most polite, but a new study says we’re the least foul mouthed.

Seattle-based mobile-advertising firm Marchex reports it used speech-recognition technology known as “call mining,” to analyze over 600,000 phone calls from customers to businesses in over 30 industries including auto dealerships, cable companies and more.

Researchers listened for curse words and found Washington state callers used the fewest.

Massachusetts, Arizona, Texas and Virginia followed. The five states with the foulest mouths were Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey, Louisiana, and Illinois.

Washington residents issued an F-bomb or other obscenity once in every 300 conversations, while folks from Ohio swore nearly twice as much.

The study also found while we might not be potty mouths, we’re not among the top five for courtesy, based on callers who say “please” and “thank you.”

Marchex also says 66 percent of the swear words came from men, calls over 10 minutes had the most cursing, and morning calls had the most obscenities.

MyNorthwest News

Starbucks (3)...

MyNorthwest Staff

Starbucks shutters another Seattle store as closures and layoffs mount

Starbucks has closed another store in Seattle, this time downtown.

9 hours ago

seattle traffic...

Nate Connors

Major sports events, full closure on I-405 will make for very busy Seattle commute all weekend

This weekend around the Seattle area might go down as one of the busiest of the summer for the Washington State Department of Transportation.

11 hours ago

Andre Sayles (2)...

James Lynch

‘My feet are here’: Interim SPD Chief Andre Sayles addresses crime, Mayor Katie Wilson, and Seattle’s path forward

Interim Seattle Police Chief Andre Sayles said he’s committed to Seattle and focused on restoring trust and safety.

11 hours ago

Burien Power outage...

MyNorthwest Staff

More than 2,200 without power in Burien

More than 2,200 customers are without power in Burien.

12 hours ago

jimothy night (1)...

MyNorthwest Staff

Raccoon crashes Seattle Mariners’ first Jimothy Night — event returns tonight

The Seattle Mariners celebrated "Hot Jimothy Summer" with a special night honoring viral raccoon Jimothy on Wednesday.

13 hours ago

Salesforce...

Julia Dallas

Salesforce to lay off 59 employees in Seattle and Bellevue

Salesforce, a major customer relationship management platform, is laying off 59 workers in Seattle and Bellevue.

14 hours ago

WTF? Washington state least foul-mouthed state in America