I surprised my colleagues by exclaiming "Gordon Bennett" the other day (I forget about what now); I think "fucking hell" would have elicited less of a response. Whilst playing Robo Rally, sain_bano exclaimed "Oh Shit!" when her robot was shoved by another robot, and then looked very embarrassed (I think because L was present). atreic's parents consider the word "knackered" to be swearing (I consider it entirely polite, so have caused offense a few times by carelessly using it in conversation).

I seem to have a fairly inconsistent view on swearing. I don't generally use the word "fuck" in speech, but was entertained by the fucking short version of Pulp Fiction, and seem to mind using it in type less. I seem to think "bollocks", "shit", and "crap" are more mild, and sometimes forget that they aren't always appropriate (whoops!).

Anyhow, I found this article interesting and entertaining, especially the bit about the Stroop effect. [I think that link is WS, despite its use of swear-words. YMMV]