Kissing is a curious thing to do. Everybody does it – you do it, I do it, now stop reading this pointless boring intro and dig into the 10 interesting facts about kissing that everyone should know:
10. Where Did The Word ‘Kiss’ Originate?
The word was derived from the Old English word ‘cyssan’ which means to kiss. While no one really knows how the term ‘cyssan’ came into the scene but people believe that it has to do something with the kind of noise the mouths make. Now, as far as the scholarly world of the Greeks are concerned, they didn’t even have a word for kissing though they did have a lot many word related to love (‘eros’ – as you may already have heard, is the most passionate kind of love). Their Roman brothers are far ahead in this concern because they have several different names attributed to different kind of kisses. A passionate kiss was called ‘saviolum’, a kiss on the closed mouth was called ‘osculum’, kiss on the cheek or hand was called ‘osculum’ etc.
9. How Did It Start & Eventually Spread
Nobody knows it for sure. There are only theories, some arguing that kissing is an instinctive urge while others argue that it’s a learned process. Indian Vedic scriptures has sometimes mentioned kissing (like ‘touching with the mouth’) which has prompted some historians to believe that following Alexander The Great’s invasion into India, the practise of ‘touching with the mouth’ spread throughout the world.
Some attribute the origin of ‘kiss on the mouth’ to mothers who chew up food in their own mouths and pass it into the mouths of their babies. The concept is called ‘kiss feeding’ and is dominantly observed in birds.
8. 10 % Of The Human Race Doesn’t Kiss
There are various reasons behind it. For instance, the Eskimos show their affection towards each other not by kissing but rubbing their noses, not because they fear their mouth getting frozen but because their mouths are usually covered. So they use the immediate exposed part of the face. Today, while 90 % of the world kisses, there are places in Sudan where people believe that the human soul can escape through the mouth so they refuse kissing on the mouth for fear of losing their souls to the kisser. For the last 18 million years the inhabitants of the Mangaia Island had lived without ever knowing how to kissing until the 1700s, when the English set foot into the island.
7. Some Countries Dictate People Not To Kiss
Public kissing is prohibited in some countries. An unfortunate instance had occurred in Mexico where a university professor named Manuel Berumen was arrested for kissing his wife in public. Back in 2010 a man in Saudi Arabia was sentenced to 30 sets of lashes and four months of prison for kissing and embracing a woman.
6. World Record For Longest Kiss
The current record holder of 2013 Ripley’s Believe It Or Not ‘longest kiss’ is Thailand’s Laksana & Ekkachai Tiranarat who held on to each other with their lips locked for 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds (seriously!!!). They must have burned a lot of calories. Studies have shown that an average human being during the course of his/her life time kisses for only 336 hours and thereby manages to burn 30,240 calories (the kiss here refers to serious had-core kiss and not a simple peck on the cheek).
5. Kissing Regularly Can Help Resists Cheating
Scientists suspect that one of the culprits behind individuals cheating on their partners is a chemical called ‘dopamine’ which oozes throughout the body while kissing. Dopamine makes people lusty and affects the brains in the same areas as the cocaine does. As days pass by and the charm of a relationship fades away, people start looking elsewhere to consummate their extremely powerful feelings.
Now, don’t become too sad for there’s a solution to this. Kissing someone regularlywith whom you’ve been living for a long time releases a chemical called ‘oxytocin’ that eases the mind and spreads a strong sense of peace. Kissing everyday is most certainly the road to high level happiness.
4. Animals Kiss Too!
Kissing seems to be a universally recognized affectionate behaviour, for animals do it too (though not exactly the way we do it). Primates as well as not-primates have demonstrated kiss-like behaviour. Chimpanzees often kiss each other after a fight, a gesture that seems to call for ‘kiss and make-up’ strategy. Elephants have often been observed entangling their trunks together; sometimes they strike each other’s mouth with their trunk. These are affectionate and consolatory movements similar to kissing.
3. Kissing Has Health Benefits
This is definitely good news. Researchers agree that kissing has more health benefits than health risks (that doesn’t mean you’d go and kiss a sick man or women and expect to be healthier after that). During the act of kissing, some useful identical bacteria’s gets exchanged between the kissers therefore boosting their immunity system. Not just that, the excitement experienced causes dilution of blood vessels and lowers the blood pressure. The extra saliva produced in the mouth can wash away bacteria around the teeth, making it healthier and shinier.
2. Philematology – The Study Of Kissing
Why do we kiss? The study revolves around this question, among other things. The saying, that the first kiss can make or break your relationship is scientifically hailed as true. Researchers in the field opine that the first time you kiss a particular person, you become aware of certain sensory vibes such as taste, smell and sound. If the vibes fail to impress than that’s the end of the relationship. In a study, as many as 66% of women and 59 % of men have admitted of find the other person less attractive after a bad kissing sessions. Another study reveals that women are more eager to kiss than their male partners.
And why does it feel so good to kiss? It’s because our lips are full of nerves that are connected with majority of our body parts. Kiss is something that we can be felt through our whole body.
1. Kissing Phobia – Facts About Kissing
While most of us experience butterflies-fluttering-in-the-tummy-moment while kissing or before kissing, for some, fear of kissing – called philemaphobia – is a serious business. There can be several reasons behind philemaphobia, for instance traumatic experiences like rape, molestation or any kind of physical abuse can lead to the dread. People often fear being afflicted by some kind of disease thanks to the germs that has travelled into them while kissing. And sometimes we’ve no idea why we fear kissing (may be its just nervous fear of making a fool out of yourself). But the good news is that with experience all jitters of kiss fades away.
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