A kiss may still be a kiss, but it's more than that, too. On one level, it's a symbol of romance, affection, desire, and all that jazz... on another level, it's 146 muscles contracting, potentially rooted in the habits of a 75 to 125 million year old ancestor... that we share with mice.
The Telegraph asks what is a kiss, anyway?
Dr Henry Gibbons defined it as: "The anatomical juxtaposition of two orbicularis oris muscles in a state of contraction", while, in Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand said it was a "rosy dot placed on the 'i' in loving".
This article discusses recent studies that link humans' desire to kiss and nuzzle noses to a potential rat-like mammal of an ancestor. It also notes the studies done that say most of us are inclined to tilt our heads to the right when we kiss; this inclination towards the right is backed up by a similar ratio of right-handed to left-handed people. (Note that in this Doisneau photograph, their heads are tilted to the left... but this was a staged photo anyway so might not reflect the natural impulse to tilt right.) Even if it doesn't do anything for us now, as we'll keep on kissin' just as we please, the history and science of the kiss is certainly interesting.
Now we can answer the question posed in the 19th century by the French poet Victor Hugo: "How did it happen that their lips came together?" We know exactly how.
Exercise all 34 facial muscles… and another 112 postural ones for good measure… engage the ventral intraparietal area… turn the head to the right and move forward in one smooth movement… apply suction.
A kiss may still be a kiss, but it's more than that, too. On one level, it's a symbol of romance, affection, desire, and all that jazz... on another level, it's 146 muscles contracting, potentially rooted in the habits of a 75 to 125 million year old ancestor... that we share with mice. The Telegraph asks what is a kiss, anyway?
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