Where are Twitter users dropping the F-bomb? New map shows you

Computer science student Martin Gingras has created an F-bomb map.

The interactive map shows where in the world Twitter users are dropping the F-word into tweets, and it’s a little bit mesmerizing.

Little puffs of smoke appear at different locations on the global map at fbomb.co, then a tiny signpost drops in. Click on the signpost to read the tweet. (You may not want to read the tweet.)

Gingras, 22, is a student at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. He said he came up with the idea for the app while talking with colleagues at lunch about “how people misuse the English language.... In particular we talked about how swearing can completely undermine your point.”

They decided “it’d be neat to map where people swear, and within a few minutes the idea for the app was born.”

I recently opened the map and watched signposts populate it. Soon they were thick in the U.S. -- mostly in the East, along the West Coast and down South. The heartland remained largely empty, which could mean tweeters with better manners or just fewer Twitter users.

There were nearly as many signposts in Europe. And it’s interesting to see what pops up under posts from the most far-flung locales; click on one of those and the expletive is likely the only word you will recognize. Gingras has gotten attention with his map. He said the widespread response surprised him -- a Japanese news blog even wrote it up.

But, he said, “I can appreciate that it is pretty entertaining and, in my humble opinion, probably worth the 30-60 seconds that it generally receives.”

Like stories about social media and swearing habits around the world? Follow me @AmyTheHub

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