Kissing is pretty great. It connects people, increases intimacy, and is just a lot of fun, especially when it’s done well. Do you remember the days when making out and kissing was the main show? Sex wasn’t even a thought yet but you could make out with your boyfriend or girlfriend for hours. You’d go home and feel amazing, loved, and cherished. What was it about those make-out sessions that made life so awesome? It might be things you never would have considered. Maybe it is some of these little things about kissing that you didn’t even realize.
- Kissing goes way back and has nothing to do with sex. Evolutionists believe that kissing goes back to the days before Baby Bullets and food in a jar. Mothers had to find a way to feed their growing children food that they could easily digest. They would chew up the food to a pulp, mixed with their saliva, and then feed it to their babies. Birds still do this now! Over time, scientists believe that the feeding, kissing motion was used to comfort children and show love and affection.
- You use muscles to kiss. Kissing uses 112 postural muscles and 34 facial muscles. It makes sense that the orbiculares oris muscle around your mouth is the one that does most of the work. It’s kind of like a facial workout. And if you have strong facial muscles, wouldn’t it be logical that your skin would stay tighter and you’d have fewer wrinkles as you get older?
- Fear of kissing is a real thing. The scientific word for it is philemaphobia. It can occur in people of all ages but it is usually seen in younger or more inexperienced people. For those who continue this fear into adulthood, it is usually related to a fear of bacteria and germs. There’s nothing to be afraid of with mouth bacteria though. Most of the 80 million bacteria in your mouth are perfectly healthy. Swapping bacteria is good for you and helps your teeth and your immune system.
- Kiss more, live longer. Okay, so there might not be enough science behind this yet, but it doesn’t hurt to try, right? A bunch of German scientists did a study that found that men who kissed their wives goodbye every morning got sick less and even got in fewer vehicle accidents. The men also lived longer by about five years and they made more money than men who didn’t kiss their wives daily. What would kissing have to do with all this? The idea is that these men that kissed their wives daily before leaving for work felt more confident and had a more positive attitude.
- If it weren’t for war, we might not have French kissing! That might be a bit of a stretch but people started calling it French Kissing after the American and British men came back from World War I. Apparently they kissed their wives with a great deal of passion and enthusiasm that had the ladies reaching for their fans. And yes, it was the liberal use of tongue that got them so worked up. It was first called a “Florentine Kiss.” People were probably French kissing before then (because let’s all admit that it’s a lot of fun) but what did they call it then?
- Kissing builds stronger relationships. If your relationship is floundering, try kissing more. If you’re feeling like you’re out of practice, start with a peck on the cheek or a sweet kiss on the lips. Build up to some passionate goodbye kisses before you leave for work or when you come home at the end of the day. Kissing build bonds and can make you feel more attracted to someone, according to a study in the Archives of Sexual Behavior in 2013. It can also increase the amount of satisfaction you feel in your relationship.
- The longest kiss in the world lasted for more than two days! A couple in Thailand set the record in 2011. Their kiss lasted for 46 hours, 24 minutes, and 9 seconds. Another Thai couple, Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat, appeared in 2013 to blow that record to smithereens with a 58 hours, 35 minutes, and 58 seconds long kiss.
Kissing is a way to show affection for people in your life, whether it is a friend, a lover, or children. There are different kinds of kissing and each one shows a different level of affection. If you want to see a relationship grow and become stronger, share a kiss. It’s like a hug, just with your lips.
