Pash, smooch, snog, whatever you wanna call it, figures say less than half of global cultures do it, so where did it come from?
One kiss can share up to 80 million bacteria. Yep.
But that’s unlikely to turn you off kissing, as studies show it’s addicting, healthy, and makes happier romances.
In Western societies, we may have the impression that kissing is a universal sign of affection.
But approximately 54 per cent of cultures don’t pucker up, and it is almost completely absent from the animal kingdom.
Human sense of smell may play a large role in smooching.
Scent can reveal important information about a potential suitor, including diet, health, mood and relatedness.
Many animals have a highly sophisticated sense of smell, and use it to suss out their new boo.
It’s no wonder, then, that humans like to get up close and personal.
So one theory is that scent is what compelled humans to bring their faces so close together.
THEY ALL KISSING AND ITS NIGHT 1 #BachelorinParadise pic.twitter.com/pFRaxk4Ahj
— emma 🤩 (@varaem) August 17, 2021
But why kissing? Why the lips?
Other cultures share physical intimacy with the same proximity as kissing, but don’t go for the lips.
According to the BBC, on the Trobriand Islands “lovers kiss by sitting face to face and nibbling at each other’s eyelashes“.
Babies may be drawn to lip touching as it is reminiscent of breastfeeding and comfort.
Another kissing theory linked to infancy is that mothers may have used “premastication food transfer” or kiss feeding – a process of passing chewed up food to an infant through the mouth, like a bird.
That theory is supported by observations of premastication food transfer in chimpanzees, our closest ancestors.
Importantly, the lips are extremely sensitive, with more nerve endings than any other part in your body
And kissing has been proven to boost the feel-good chemicals like oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin, as well as lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
There are loads more benefits to kissing, like strengthening your immune system as found in a 2014 study.
It improves bonding in relationships and relationship satisfaction, and even boosts your sex drive.
Whatever the origin, many cultures aren’t showing signs of weaning off our love of kissing.
rabbit smooch pic.twitter.com/nvdi6Iko9V
— ella🐰 (@ningsvt) June 16, 2021
