Researchers at Oberlin College in Ohio have three reasons why you cringe at the word moist.

1) Saying the word engages the same muscles in your face that you use  when you see, smell or hear something gross.

2) Its connotation: Cookies can be moist and delicious, but the word is often used to describe disgusting things.

3) Social Media: The study found that hatred for the word has grown because of the negative attention it gets on social media. Dr. Paul Thibodeau says,“As the word gains attention, more and more people seem to find the word aversive. Alternatively, moist-aversion may just be a fad,” Thibodeau said.

There’s an evolutionary reason why we have a knee-jerk reaction to some words. “Emotional language” grabs our attention and sends red flags to the brain.

“Disgust is adaptive. If we didn’t have an instinct to run away from vomit and diarrhea, disease could spread more easily. But is this instinct biological or do we learn it? Does our culture shape what we find disgusting? This is a complex and nuanced question,” Thibodeau concluded.

 

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