WEIRD STUFF

America wins f-bomb Olympics

A massive new linguistic deep-dive has crowned Americans as the world's biggest users of the f-word, beating both Britain and Australia in sheer volume.

But when it comes to creativity, the Aussies still reign supreme.

Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland trawled through a staggering 7.8 billion words posted on X between 2006 and 2023, analysing posts from users in the US, the UK, and Australia -- all in pursuit of one notorious term: the f-word, described as the "crown jewel of global profanity".

The study found that Americans unleash "f***" the most, Brits follow close behind, and Australians trail in third -- a result that left experts stunned.

"The low frequency of f* in the Australian data are surprising as Australians are often perceived as prolific swearers.

"And swearing in public domains in the USA has been argued to be less tolerated than in Australia."

Researchers, however, said Australians may swear less often, but they swear far better -- remixing the f-word into wildly inventive forms, from mother**** to fark and even the Irish-flavoured feck.

Study lead Mikko Laitinen revealed that the team uncovered "over 2,300 different spellings of the f-word", adding that "people's creativity is nearly endless".

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Social media blamed for attention problems in kids

A major international study tracking 8,324 children from age nine or 10 into early adolescence found that heavy social media use led to a steady decline in attention and a rise in impulsivity.

The research, conducted by Sweden's Karolinska Institutet and Oregon Health and Science University, monitored daily digital habits while parents reported on behaviour and concentration.

The pattern was stark: children glued to Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, X, and Messenger showed worsening attention over time while those who mainly watched TV or played video games did not.

Senior author Professor Torkel Klingberg said the culprit is constant mental interruption.

"Our study suggests that it is specifically social media that affects children's ability to concentrate.

"Social media entails constant distractions in the form of messages and notifications, and the mere thought of whether a message has arrived can act as a mental distraction. This affects the ability to stay focused and could explain the association."

Pill could prevent alcohol cravings

A pill on the UK's National Health Service could prevent booze cravings.

Acamprosate stabilises brain chemistry, and reduces the cravings that drag people back to the bottle. Although mainly prescribed for heavy drinkers alongside counselling, moderate drinkers can get it too. But unlike rival "booze pill" naltrexone, Acamprosate only works if people genuinely want to quit alcohol altogether.

Dr Omair Ahmed, consultant psychiatrist at Priory Hospital Woodbourne, Birmingham, England, told Sun Health: "This includes adults with moderate to severe alcohol use disorder whose clear goal is full abstinence, and who are willing to engage in counselling or support services alongside the medication

"It also includes people who have recently stopped drinking or completed detoxification and struggle with strong cravings or repeated relapses when trying to remain sober."

Acamprosate balances levels of GABA - a brain chemical linked to alcohol cravings. Due to this, it's usually started right at the beginning of withdrawal and can be taken for up to six months. Despite being around for more than 30 years, experts say the drug is massively underused and its ability to stop problem drinking is very low.

Ahmed said: "Acamprosate tends to be underused for several reasons beyond simple low awareness.

"Research shows many people who could benefit never get offered any medication at all, even though these drugs are effective.

"Many clinicians, especially in primary care, have limited training in addiction pharmacotherapy and are unsure how or when to prescribe medications like Acamprosate."

He added: "Some treatment programmes still favour a 'therapy only' model and are philosophically reluctant to use medications, while patients may worry that needing medication means their problem is 'worse'."

However, the pill's inconvenient schedule - three times a day - also puts some people off.