Why The Word "Moist" Grosses You Out

Moist. Why do people have such a problem with the word? It's not even a swear word. But it may as well be. 

Oberlin Professor Paul Thibodeau wanted to find out why the word makes people so uncomfortable. The following is what him and his researchers came up with: “On average, about 18 percent of our participants identified as categorically averse to the word,” Thibodeau writes. “Women, younger people, and those with more education, who tended to score higher on measures of disgust toward bodily function and neuroticism (a personality trait characterized by increased feelings of anxiety, worry, anger, and guilt), were particularly likely to find the word unpleasant.”

The study was conducted over four years and spanned 2,500 subjects. Moist was found less unpleasant than racial slurs and words associated with violence.

Researchers presented these three following possible theories for why people hate the word:

1. Sound: Saying “moist” uses the same facial muscles that contract when we experience something disgusting. 

2. Connotation: Moist conjures both positive and negative meanings. While we all love moist chocolate cake, the word can also trigger images of vomit, phlegm, or the grosser parts of sex.

3. Social transmission: If one person dislikes the word, they convince someone else that they don’t like the word either. 

Interesting. Very interesting. Doesn't stop us from hating it tho, does it?

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