Prepare Yourself For International Kissing Day

 by Kevin Burton

    OK, now I’ve got you covered, now I’ve got the goods. Here’s news you can use for sure.

   Now this is something worth celebrating. Sunday is International Kissing Day, according to  Nationaltoday.com.

   And see, I didn’t do something lame, like posting about it the day of International Kissing Day. You got some notice.

   So, you now have two days to prepare and zero excuses. Pucker up.

   “No matter which type of kiss you prefer, International Kissing Day on July 6 is the perfect time of year to celebrate this simple but powerful gesture,” the website opines.  “From French kissing and a formal kiss on the cheek, to a kiss hello and a kiss goodbye — kissing is an age-old practice with significance that extends far beyond just romance.”

   I once read this sentence in a blog: “Kissing is my favorite sport.” I read that, I didn’t write it.  That blog author did not elaborate.

   I searched kissing as a sport and got nothing much. There was some stuff about Morganna, The Kissing Bandit. Remember her?  She would elude security and run onto major league baseball fields to kiss star players. But it wasn’t the kisses, per se, that made her famous. Her “baseball stats” as she called them, quoted in Wikipedia, were 60-23-39.

   So that was a thing for a while.  And hey, today is her birthday! She is 78.

   Probably the first song I ever learned by heart was “K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”   You know, the one about “sittin’ in a tree?”  I think we got that one onto the Bermuda Top 40, when I was in first grade.

   “If we go back in time, we can thank the Romans for the widespread practice of kissing in Europe,” wrote National Today. “They described kissing in three forms: the osculum (a friendly peck on the cheek), the basium (a loving kiss on the lips), and the savium (the most passionate of kisses on the mouth). In Roman society, when, where, and how you kissed someone was an important indicator of social status.”

   “The term “French kiss” was most likely coined by American and British servicemen in France during World War I who noticed that Gallic women were more open to employing the passionate technique than their American and British counterparts.”

   “So even though the French were clearly not the first people to engage in ‘French kissing,’ it seems only right that they were given credit for it due to the amorous enthusiasms of French lovers a century ago.”

   “Interestingly enough, the French actually didn’t have a specific word for the famous mouth on mouth until recently. The verb galocher, defined as “kissing with tongues,” was added to a popular yet unofficial French dictionary, Le Petit Robert, in 2014.”

   “International Kissing Day itself is not only about French kissing your significant other, but to bring people closer in general,” the website wrote. “The main idea behind it was that so many people have forgotten the simple pleasures associated with kissing for kissing’s sake, as opposed to kissing as mere social formality. Kissing can be an enjoyable experience in and of itself and is an expression of love and intimacy.”

   The website lists some Kissing Day survey results, supposedly compiled by “a top Tampa marketing agency:
HOW DO AMERICANS RATE THEIR KISSING SKILLS?
#1: “Good” (32%)
#2: “Great” (28%)
#3: “Amazing” (23%)
#4: “Okay” (16%)
#5: “Horrible” (2%)

HOW DO AMERICANS RATE THEIR PARTNERS?
#1: “Amazing” (27%)
#2: “Great” (27%)
#3: “Good” (26%)
#4: “Okay” (12%)
#5: “Horrible” (2%)

AMERICANS RANK THE WORST ATTRIBUTES OF A BAD KISSER
#1: Bad breath (58%)
#2: Too much tongue (20%)
#3: Teeth (10%)
#4: Not enough tongue (6%)
#5: Eye contact (6%)

WHEN DID THE AVERAGE AMERICAN HAVE THEIR FIRST KISS?
#1: Middle School (36%)
#2: High School (26%)
#3: Elementary School (22%)
#4: 18-21 (8%)
#5: 21-25 (2%)
#6: 25-30 or after 30 (1%)

2% OF AMERICANS HAVE NEVER BEEN KISSED
The majority of them (62%) are men who are between the ages of 18-24 (54%) or 25-34 (31%).

AMERICAN’S TOP KISSING QUIRKS:
#1: Always checking their breath before they kiss someone (42%)
#2: Kissing someone as a dare (31%)
#3: Letting my pet kiss me on the mouth (14%)
#4: Putting on chapstick to get ready (12%)
#5: Being grossed out when parents kiss in front of them (11%)

   Also, by the numbers, according to National Today:

26 – the number of calories in one Hershey’s Kiss.

4 – the number of minutes it takes to burn off one Hershey’s Kiss.

2 weeks – the time a person spends in their life kissing.

$1,600 – the price at which a lipstick imprint of a kiss made by Mick Jagger was sold at. 

79 – the number of guys the average woman kisses before marriage.

90% – the percentage of people in the world who kiss on the lips.

50% – the percentage of people who have kissed before reaching teenage years.

100 – times more sensitivity of the lips compared to the tips of our fingers.

34 – the number of facial muscles used to kiss someone.

5 – cranial nerves involved in one kiss.

Traditions of the day

   “The art of kissing transcends cultural norms. No matter which country or customs you belong to, kissing is celebrated as an enjoyable activity. Whether it is an affectionate peck on the cheek, or a deep, passionate kiss shared between lovers, International Kissing Day is all about expressing love through kisses,” the website wrote.

   “Don’t hold back today! Kiss your partner good morning and plant some more on them throughout the day!”

Why We Love International Kissing Day

1. It’s a full-face workout

   “Did you know that French kissing engages all 34 muscles in the face, whereas a simple pucker kiss only involves two? Who needs the gym when a make-out session will get our hearts racing and our muscles working?”

• Kissing makes us happy and relieves stress

   “Kissing serves as a natural relaxer that makes us feel happy and at peace. By stimulating our brain to release feel-good chemicals, kissing makes us feel both calm and excited at the same time.”

• Kissing crosses language and cultural boundaries

   “Kissing is a cross-cultural form of communication that means the same things in every country—regardless of language, ethnicity, or religion. By kissing, you can communicate complex emotions without having to exchange any words with your kissing partner.”

   And that’s all we have on the glorious topic of kissing. If you enjoyed today’s post be sure to come back tomorrow, when our topic will be, birth control.