Sharing a kiss is no doubt the simplest way to
engage with your partner and express that giddy
feeling of butterflies they give you.

Of course, it’s such a normal thing that we don’t
even bat an eye anymore when we do it, or see it.

But like anything else, there’s more beneath the
surface about kissing, like health benefits, origins
of etymology, and the science of kissing.






Kissing uses more muscles than you think.

In total, one kiss uses 146 muscles working
together.

You may think the majority of those are
in your face, but actually 112 of those are
postural muscles, and the remainder 34 is various
facial muscles.

Even so, the muscle used the most in a kiss is
the muscle around your mouth of course, called
the orbicularis oris.

How did researchers find out something like this?
Well, they studied couples kissing underneath an
MRI scanner. Imagine that experiment!




The world record for the longest kiss.

There is a Guinness World Record for the longest-
lasting kiss, and it’s insanely high!

Thai couple, Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat held
a kiss for 58 hours, 35 minutes, and 58 seconds
without a break. If that’s not a symbol of love, I
don’t know what is!

To emphasize this impressive feat even more, the
average person spends two weeks of their life
kissing – about 20,160 minutes in total.

I imagine the total amount of time kissing by this
record breaking Thai couple must be even higher!





There’s actually health benefits to kissing.

When you lock lips, your mouth produces extra
saliva which helps clean your mouth and prevent
tooth decay!

Although keep in mind, that one kiss can carry up
to 80 million new bacteria, which may be a turn
off if you’re a germophobe.

Rest assured, research implies that this bacteria
swapping and sharing microbes is good for you
and boosts your immune system.

Worried about your complexion? Kissing can also
minimize dermatitis and blemishes on your skin.





Kiss-a-phobia is a real fear.

Afraid to have your first kiss? Many people are
nervous at first, which is normal! But there is a
phobia for pretty much everything, and kissing is
no exception.

The fear of kissing is officially known as
philemaphobia which makes sense, because the
Greek word for kissing is “philema”.

Of course, this can occur not only in young
people, but lovers of all ages.

Sometimes it may not get better unless you seek
therapy!





Which way do you lean?


While your reaction to kissing feels like a natural
response, for the most part, our kissing style can
be traced back to when we were still in our
momma’s stomach!

The majority of people will tilt their head to the
right when they kiss.

This may seem like a socialized trait, but it
actually goes back even further.

The theory goes, is that we lean to the right
because when we were in the womb, we naturally
tilted our heads to the right.

The next time you lean in for a smooch, keep in
mind that two-thirds of people will lean to the
right, although there may be the occasional left-
tilter, so watch out for head bumps!





There is a science behind kissing…

If you want to follow a career in kissing, you can!

The study of kissing is called philematology,

while the person who studies kissing is called an
osculologist.

Now that’s a mouthful!

If you choose to pursue this study, you’ll learn
deeper about things like how many calories a kiss
burns (3 per minute), or that lips are like
snowflakes in that no two lip impressions are the
same!