# Why is the obnoxious \*BLEEP\* the standard way to censor cursing on radio/TV? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 14, 2009, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398 "2009-05-14T11:56:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/1 "2009-05-14T11:56:31Z")
Wouldn’t it be easier to just mute for a half second? It seems like the obvious intuitive thing to do and shouldn’t require any more editing work than the bleep. I would even expect it to be more effective at it’s purpose (“ignoring” the cursing instead of calling attention to it). Does anyone know how blaring off a crazy hysterical _BLEEEEEP_ somehow became the industry standard? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/2 "2009-05-14T12:25:54Z")
One possibility is a perceived need to make it obvious that the sound disruption is intentional. Without some sort of signal, it could well be thought to be some sort of annoying technical glitch. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/3 "2009-05-14T12:31:24Z")
In the early days, you needed a sound that would drown out the word. The beep became the standard. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/4 "2009-05-14T14:13:11Z")
Some shows mix it up a bit. “Deadliest Catch” on the Discovery Channel will use various sound effects from a crab boat to mask the curses - a horn, the sound of a crab trap crashing into the deck, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/5 "2009-05-14T14:15:42Z")
Some shows just blank it out but most use a sound of some kind. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/6 "2009-05-14T14:19:48Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > One possibility is a perceived need to make it obvious that the sound disruption is intentional. Without some sort of signal, it could well be thought to be some sort of annoying technical glitch. I hear shows sometimes that simply mute the offending word, and it’s always _much_ more disconcerting to my ear that way. The flow of the sentence seems to be much choppier and harder to follow. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/7 "2009-05-14T14:21:27Z")
Static noise, cracks and claps or just silence are also very common. I the love clown honks and splats that you sometimes see in candid camera shows. I am thinking it is what Xema said about wanting to make sure you know that is an intentional muting of something and not just a technical failure. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/8 "2009-05-14T14:33:49Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > Static noise, cracks and claps or just silence are also very common. I the love clown honks and splats that you sometimes see in candid camera shows. My all-time favorite alternative to the _bleep_ is the old game show _cuckoo_. If you don’t count people actually saying the word _bleep_, like in that _X-Files_ episode. That bleeping rocked. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/9 "2009-05-14T15:12:30Z")
I’m enjoying NBC’s _Southland_ South Park-like embrace of the _BLEEP_. Of course, done for different effect, but it works. ---
**Author:** ![Anthony\_N](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Anthony\_N](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anthony_N)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/10 "2009-05-14T17:56:50Z")
The “bleep” comes from live radio when you would have a 5 second tape delay on the broadcast which was just enough time for the engineer to hear the swear word and then hit the bleep button when it went out in the boroadcast. In the days of analog equipment, it would have been easier to play a loud sound effect over the audio than to attempt to surgically remove the offending word by muting it. With recorded programs, you could obviously reshoot/rerecord if someone let a bad word slip, so leaving in a bleep is a way to communicate to the audience of the obscentiy while still complying with the FCC’s rules. This has been elevated to almost an artform on shows like Hells Kitchen when an irate Gordon Ramsey’s speech can sometimes contain more bleeps than words. I like when R-rated movies are edited for television and the bad words are overdubbed with clean words, sometimes to unintentional comedic effect. In Kill Bill, when Uma Thurman is in the hospital, the male nurse’s line becomes “I’m Buck and I like to _party_”. Where the line in the theatrical release actually rhymed. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/11 "2009-05-14T18:01:30Z")
I get a kick out of the shows that blank out the middle of the word, leaving the consonants and each end intact. Your brain fills in the sound so that you pretty much hear the word complete, even though it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/12 "2009-05-14T18:25:01Z")
> [@Anthony\_N](#): > > I like when R-rated movies are edited for television and the bad words are overdubbed with clean words, sometimes to unintentional comedic effect. In Kill Bill, when Uma Thurman is in the hospital, the male nurse’s line becomes “I’m Buck and I like to _party_”. Where the line in the theatrical release actually rhymed. Two of my favorite dubs are “This is what happens when you meet a stranger in the Alps” and “Yippe-kay-yay, mister falcon.” (\*The Big Lebowski \*and _Die Hard_, respectively.) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/13 "2009-05-14T20:00:00Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I get a kick out of the shows that blank out the middle of the word, leaving the consonants and each end intact. Your brain fills in the sound so that you pretty much hear the word complete, even though it isn’t. I don’t know of any other shows on AMC, but “Breaking Bad” does this and I find it much more seamless than a beep. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/14 "2009-05-15T01:39:48Z")
I would agree the bleep is probably a hold over from radio, but it also distracts the viewer. Many cuss words are very easy to make out even if not heard. If they simply muted it out, the person would be able to make out the curse word. By bleeping it, it takes the focus of the actor’s mouth. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/15 "2009-05-15T13:01:20Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I would agree the bleep is probably a hold over from radio, but it also distracts the viewer. Many cuss words are very easy to make out even if not heard. If they simply muted it out, the person would be able to make out the curse word. By bleeping it, it takes the focus of the actor’s mouth. It appears that, on reality shows and the like, they often cover up the speaker’s mouth at the same time they bleep the word. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/16 "2009-05-15T15:46:51Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > I get a kick out of the shows that blank out the middle of the word, leaving the consonants and each end intact. Your brain fills in the sound so that you pretty much hear the word complete, even though it isn’t. I’ve noticed this becoming more common in songs on the radio as well. Sometimes your brain doesn’t recognize the word, though. For years I thought the line in POTUSA’s “Kitty” was “_Cute_ kitty you’re gonna spend the night outside.” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/17 "2009-05-15T17:54:52Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I hear shows sometimes that simply mute the offending word, and it’s always _much_ more disconcerting to my ear that way. The flow of the sentence seems to be much choppier and harder to follow. Yeah, now that I focus on it I find that a break in the sentence is far more disruptive than a mere noise replacing the word. The brain wants continuity to process meaning. Jimmy Kimmel has a regular segment on his show called something like unnecessary censorship. He shows famous people uttering perfectly ordinary sentences and by placing a bleep in the right position (in words ending with -ing or -ed or starting with f) makes it seem like they are swearing. [Here’s an example](http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/aeeee65eae/jimmy-kimmel-unnecessary-censorship-from-noun). (Starts up immediately.) ---
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/18 "2009-05-18T22:27:46Z")
heres my favorite example of censorship making something worse… [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD6Efggk5s8) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-obnoxious-bleep-the-standard-way-to-censor-cursing-on-radio-tv/496398/19 "2009-05-19T01:37:07Z")
First airing of _The Exorcist_ on broadcast TV: ‘Your mother still rots in hell!’