In many cities, various kissing competitions are held on this day, the participants of which have a chance to win various prizes and gifts.
How did the kiss come about? Most knowledgeable people claim that the authorship of the first kiss has not been established. It was not invented like electricity or a telephone. He was not named after the man who first connected his lips and immediately unclenched them with a characteristic sound, leaving a wet imprint on his girlfriend's cheek.
Yes, in general, it is not so important where the word denoting this action comes from. It is much more interesting to know why the action itself appeared, but anthropologists, historians and philosophers still do not agree on this matter. There are a great many theories.
Why do people kiss? Firstly, because it is instilled by culture. Almost all over the world, when people find themselves in a romantic situation, they feel an unconscious need to kiss. It feels like representatives of the opposite sex are programmed to kiss and that’s all they are waiting for. If you understand this, you will receive more kisses and pleasure from them.
Kiss of Rhett and Scarlett (Still from the film «Gone with the Wind», 1939)
This program operates day after day. People see actors kissing on TV screens, in movies and in commercials, they are told that their friends are kissing this and that, they see people kissing on the street. As a result, in known situations, a kiss is perceived as an obligatory component of them. Therefore, in a romantic setting, a subconscious stereotype comes into force, and people feel an almost irresistible desire to kiss, regardless of whether they really want it or not.
There is even a special science that studies the fundamental physiological, psychological and other features of human kissing, — philematology. This discipline was officially recognized in 2009 at the congress of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Scientists have repeatedly conducted research within the framework of philematology. In particular, it was found that a kiss calms the nervous system and prevents stress, helps you lose weight, and is an excellent prevention of wrinkles: it involves about 30 facial muscles. In addition, the kiss develops the lungs and causes the activation of a number of hormones.
Psychologists from the University of Berlin have found that three 20-second kisses in the morning can maintain a romantic mood all day, and a long kiss stops an attack of vegetative-vascular dystonia. By the way, according to the same scientists, the duration of a perfect kiss is — 3 minutes.
According to scientists, the duration of a perfect kiss is — 3 minutes... (Photo: Ollyy, licensed from Shutterstock.com)
Famous kissers A certain American A.E. Tungsten of Minnesota kissed 8,001 people in 8 hours on September 15, 1990, during a festival held in his state. Thus, he managed to kiss a new person every 3.6 seconds.
First kiss on screen: 1896. It was captured by May Irwin and John S. Raye in Thomas Edison's 30-second video entitled «Kiss».
The most kiss-packed film of the 20th century: «Don Juan» (1926, Warner Bros. Pictures). It counted 191 kisses.
The Longest Kiss in Film History: Regis Toomey and Jane Wyman kissed for 185 seconds in «You're in the Army Now», which accounts for 4% of the film's total length.
In 2005, Russian Arkady Stepanov kissed a «Porsche» car for 58 hours and 42 minutes and for this became its owner.
The world record for the longest kiss was set in February 2013 in Thailand by the spouses Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat, who kissed continuously for 58 hours 35 minutes and 58 seconds.
• Infographics – poster «World Kissing Day» • Story: «Kiss me, Mom!»