1. The dictionary defines a kiss as a touch given with lips as a sign of love, affection, greeting or reverence. Kisses come in many forms. There’s a kiss curl (a small curl of hair on the forehead), the kiss of death (apparently friendly act causing ruin), the kiss of life (artificial respiration). Some kisses are loud – the band KISS. Some kisses are delicious – Hersey’s kisses. Some kisses are personal – a kiss between lovers.
2. When you think about it – kissing is pretty yucky. It’s basically swapping spit. Experts say lots of bacteria journey from one mouth to another during the kissing process. You can get diseases from kissing – like meningitis, herpes and mononucleosis.
3. Despite this danger of disease anthropologists report that 90 percent of the people in the world kiss. Most people look forward to their first romantic kiss and remember it for the rest of their lives. Do you remember the awkward bump of noses, the apprehension of your first kiss?
4. Several other animal species have behaviors that resemble kissing. Many mammals lick one another’s faces, birds touch one another’s bills and snails caress one another’s antennae. In some cases, the animals are grooming one another rather than kissing. In others, they’re smelling scent glands that are located on faces or in mouths. Regardless, when animals touch each other in this way, they’re often showing signs of trust and affection or developing social bonds.
5. Your body physically reacts to being kissed. Most people like to be touched, and that’s part of your body’s response to kissing. But kissing also affects everything from your blood to your brain.
6. Kisses have lots of variations. There’s the beginner’s kiss where lips brush or gently press together. There’s a butterfly kiss where lips just graze in a light touch. There’s a French kiss where participants kiss with open mouths and probing tongues. Gently please! No stabbing for tonsils allowed.
7. There’s a virtual kiss – :-*
8. If you’re kissing a lot you want to have fresh breath and kissable lips. Here are some instructions for kisseable lips:
Step 1: Prep
Smooth lips with lip balm. Avoid slick products, such as Vaseline or anything else petroleum-based (they will make the lipstick slide off). Instead, apply a waxy balm, such as Chapstick, and massage into lips with your figertips. Then let it sink in for a few minutes.
Step 2: Pick Your Stick
Grab one that lets lips show through, such as a sheer lipstick or light gloss. Apply…LIPSTICK straight from the tube. Blend into lips and along your lip line with fingertip. Apply LIP GLOSS with the wand or a lip brush. Smooth out with your fingertip.
Step 3: Blot
When you are finished applying color, lightly kiss the back of your hand. This will get rid of excess product without cutting down on the sheen. Then, gently smack your lips together to even out the color one last time. Pucker up!
9. There are kissing games like SPIN THE BOTTLE
You put a soda bottle or a flashlight in the middle of a circle of people. One person spins the bottle (or flashlight in the dark) and when it stops spinning and points to someone of the opposite sex, they have to kiss.
10. We sing about kisses – here’s the great Louis Armstrong singing A Kiss to Build a Dream on.
11. There are kissing quotes:
The decision to kiss for the first time is the most crucial in any love story. It changes the relationship of two people much more strongly than even the final surrender; because this kiss already has within it that surrender. -Emil Ludwig (1881-1948)
I have found men who didn’t know how to kiss. I’ve always found time to teach them. -Mae West
A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous. -Ingrid Bergman
12. You can kiss the Blarney Stone in Ireland.
13. James Belshaw and Sophia Severin locked lips for more than 31 hours to break the world record for the longest kiss.
James Belshaw, 26, and his girlfriend Sophia Severin, 23, from London, shared an unbroken kiss for 31 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds. They began kissing in the Plaza Shopping Centre in Oxford Street at 11:15 BST on Wednesday. The pair broke the previous record, which was set in the US four years ago, by more than half an hour.
Throughout the event they were not allowed to sit, or fall asleep, could only take sustenance through a straw and had to stay kissing even while visiting the toilet.
Do you have any kissing trivia to add? Stories of first kisses? A comment?
Tomorrow I’m having another post about kisses and would like to invite you to post a kiss excerpt (in the comments section). If it’s published post a buy link. Unpublished authors are welcome to leave their kiss excerpts as well. I’m giving out some spot prizes so come along and say hello, even if you don’t post an excerpt.
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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April 24th, 2008 at 4:30 am · Link
I’ll be back later this evening with a kiss excerpt, Shelley – I’m at work right now. I love that first quote about the kiss being the first surrender. Perfect.
April 24th, 2008 at 4:57 am · Link
I’ll have to remember to come back with an excerpt. Loved your list.
Happy T13!
April 24th, 2008 at 6:17 am · Link
I love Mae West.
April 24th, 2008 at 7:05 am · Link
Great list! Can’t wait to see the kissing excerpts!
April 24th, 2008 at 7:06 am · Link
No excerpt to leave, but I really appreciated this post. Just lovely.
Happy T13!
April 24th, 2008 at 7:21 am · Link
I was going to say #1 made it sound so dry until I got to #2
April 24th, 2008 at 7:53 am · Link
pucker up for a SMOOCHIE!!
I think my favorite are Doggy smoochies. I love those.
April 24th, 2008 at 8:07 am · Link
Every morning my cat greets me with a rub of his nose against mine – I love those kitty kisses!
Looking forward to tomorrow! :)
April 24th, 2008 at 8:15 am · Link
I adore your TT, Shelley! Hehehe! I especially love the Mae West’s quote. :D
April 24th, 2008 at 8:49 am · Link
As my then boyfriend (now husband) said before our first kiss: “Hey, do you want to try that kissing thing?”
Happy TT.
April 24th, 2008 at 9:04 am · Link
A kiss excerpt? I’ll have to think about it… Hmmm… Even if I do it late, I might do it just for the fun of it.
Thanks for the cool idea!
April 24th, 2008 at 9:35 am · Link
My dh had the MOST kissable lips. Mmm. Our first kiss was soft and warm. :D YAY!
I do remember the first awkward kiss, in high school [i shouldn't have been kising at all, right?!] lOL. And then the tongue was there and I was like, Weird. LOL.
I got a little grossed out with the bacteria bit. EW.
April 24th, 2008 at 9:36 am · Link
Has! he has! sheesh. sorry. LOL
April 24th, 2008 at 10:00 am · Link
Great post, Shelley!
April 24th, 2008 at 10:45 am · Link
Sweet (and yet a little squicky, too!) Great list!
April 24th, 2008 at 11:41 am · Link
Great TT! And who doesn’t love kissing?!
*hugs*
Paige
My TT is at http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com/
April 24th, 2008 at 12:53 pm · Link
Too funny! The spit thing totally made me laugh!
April 24th, 2008 at 1:00 pm · Link
Fascinating trivia. Didn’t like the details about bacteria, but the quotes were great!
Chloe
April 24th, 2008 at 1:04 pm · Link
Cute 13~
April 24th, 2008 at 1:56 pm · Link
LOL – I haven’t caught anything from kissing yet. I don’t think I’ll stop.
Mae West said the greatest things. I bet she’d be fun at a Diva party.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:55 pm · Link
I like the term “kiss” for a group of vampires. And I love kissing!
April 24th, 2008 at 5:12 pm · Link
I loved all the great information you provided about kissing. My favorite thing about kissing is enjoying the way my lover tastes. It’s a good thing! Happy T13!
April 24th, 2008 at 8:44 pm · Link
LOL You really know how to analyze a kiss!
Great list!
April 24th, 2008 at 10:33 pm · Link
Awwwww – what a sweet list!
What about braces and kissing? Is it an urban legend that you can get stuck together if both participants have braces? I never had a bad experience with it – but I remember being worried about it back in the day.
Happy TT!!
April 26th, 2008 at 2:26 pm · Link
Great TT, Shelley!
I actually *did* kiss the Blarney Stone!