1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: My name is Robert Lamb and Julie Douglas. We're continuing 4 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 1: our onslaught against Valentine's Day and all things Valentine's and 5 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: valentine Zan and uh, today we obviously have to take 6 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 1: on one of the big ones, kissing, Yeah, because I mean, 7 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: what could be more emblematic or even like a physical 8 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: embodiment of love and hearts? Kiss? And we mean to 9 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,559 Speaker 1: dissemble this and show it for what it really is. 10 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: And that's a good question. What is it? Right? We're 11 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: gonna get get to that. Is it something we learn? 12 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 1: Is it something that we do instinctively? And if we 13 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 1: do it instinctively, why are we doing it? What possible 14 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: service uh could could could there be in placing your 15 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:58,960 Speaker 1: lips on another creature's lips and then moving those lips 16 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: around and then what happens back terially? What's the profile 17 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: going on there? Um? And before we dive into some 18 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: of that and even some of the history of the kiss, 19 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 1: I wanted to mention that Ship Walter, who was writing 20 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: for Scientific American, has a great sort of like lips unfold. 21 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:19,479 Speaker 1: The kiss from this starry eyed perspective, says quote. When 22 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 1: passion takes a grip, a kiss locks two humans together 23 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: in an exchange of sense, tastes, textures, secrets, and emotions. 24 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: We kiss furitivelylstiviously, gently, shyly, hungrily, and exuberantly. We kiss 25 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:36,480 Speaker 1: in broad daylight and in the dead of night. We 26 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: give ceremonial kisses, affectionate kisses, Hollywood air kisses, kisses of death, 27 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 1: and at least in fairy tales, pecks that revived princesses. Nice, 28 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 1: I mean, and indeed, there are a lot of different kisses, 29 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 1: so there's there's no there's no single kiss. There's the 30 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: In fact, if you go by the work of seventeenth 31 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: century German poet, literally historian and translator Martin von kim 32 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: be Uh, he wrote a thousand page encyclopedia of kissing 33 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: that recognized twenty different varieties, including two notable ones that 34 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: kiss bestowed by superiors on inferiors, which we don't really 35 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: get around here at the House of Works, thankfully, and 36 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: uh and also hypocritical kiss. But you mentioned the kiss 37 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: of the kiss of death because of doom. I mean, 38 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: that's a big one too, and instantly brings my mind 39 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 1: to the Godfather. And of course, uh, you know the 40 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 1: story of Judas and Christ betraying him with a kiss. 41 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,359 Speaker 1: But the kiss goes back far, far deeper in history 42 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: than that it does. The first documentation of kissing is 43 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: in the four Vedic sanscript texts written in India around 44 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: and it describes the act. And then you have an 45 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: Indian epic poem, Maha Barata, which mentions kissing. And this 46 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: actual this poem was passed down orally for centuries and 47 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,960 Speaker 1: then it was finally written down in threeft C. Yeah, 48 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: we've actually talked about the Mahabarada before. Tells the story 49 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: of the great rivalry between the Curus and the Pandavas 50 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,679 Speaker 1: starting in the middle of the first millennium um b c. 51 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: And you have gods and kings and also the wonderful stuff. 52 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:13,800 Speaker 1: There's a there's a great uh play and film adaptation 53 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: of the play out there that the English language that 54 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:19,079 Speaker 1: I definitely recommend people check out. Yeah, it's a very 55 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:23,359 Speaker 1: rich narrative. Now, another very rich narrative that features kissing 56 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:27,519 Speaker 1: is the Kama Sutra, which was written in the sixth century. 57 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: Now you throw in a little bit of Alexander the 58 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:38,080 Speaker 1: Great invading India, and you have, you know, public kissing 59 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 1: becoming a thing, and it begins to spread, say to 60 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: the Roman Empire, and it sort of comes out of 61 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,760 Speaker 1: the bedroom or the homes of people and out onto 62 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: the streets. Though not entirely so, I mean, this is 63 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: this is very much a Western thing. Yeah. The stats 64 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: tend to say that it's practiced by at least nine 65 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: of cultures among sexual and romantic partners, and that tim 66 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: person is interesting. We started looking back at their the 67 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: accounts of Charles Darwin in his book The Expression of 68 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: the Emotions in Man and Animals. He uh, he talked 69 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 1: about the rubbing of noses as an alternative to the kiss, 70 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,760 Speaker 1: practiced for instance among the Inuits, where we get the 71 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,159 Speaker 1: idea of the Eskimo kiss the rubbing of the noses. Um. 72 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 1: And you see also across Africa, the Pacific and in 73 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: the America's um plenty of the examples of people that 74 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: didn't really do the kiss until Europeans introduced it to them. Yeah, 75 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: although especially with with the nezzling of noses, that is 76 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:41,919 Speaker 1: an intimate act, it's just not as much of a 77 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 1: bacterial exchange. And I'm even thinking about Hawaiian culture in which, um, 78 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 1: there's this bowing of the heads next to each other 79 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:52,799 Speaker 1: and you exchange a breath, so you come very close 80 00:04:52,839 --> 00:04:55,479 Speaker 1: to each other. The idea is that you're you're you're 81 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:59,480 Speaker 1: meeting each other and taking in a breath. And uh, 82 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: when some of the European explorers showed up, they wouldn't 83 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: do this with the Hawaiian people, and they became known 84 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,600 Speaker 1: as how he's h A O l e. The no breathers, 85 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:14,720 Speaker 1: that they wouldn't get that close to each other in exchange. 86 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 1: This moment, I was reading that during the ravages of 87 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:21,719 Speaker 1: the Black Death fourteenth century Europe, that you saw kissing 88 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:25,240 Speaker 1: falling out of fashion because obviously there's a lot of 89 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:27,479 Speaker 1: Black Death going along around, so you kind of cut 90 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:32,479 Speaker 1: back on some of your your interpersonal physical touching. But uh, 91 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 1: while kissing fell away, licking, sniffing and nibbling of the 92 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:39,719 Speaker 1: eyebrows comes into play as an alternative, which, again to 93 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:43,359 Speaker 1: your point, kind of fills the same void, the close 94 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: intimate physical contact that that makes up for the locking 95 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: of lips. Right, So, even though there may not be 96 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: that specific expression of kissing, there are other expressions like 97 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 1: the nuzzling of eyebrows. Yeah, yeah, wow, I feel about that. 98 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:00,719 Speaker 1: It sounds kind of hard to do. I mean, especially 99 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:04,160 Speaker 1: depending on the how big the nose is. Like, if 100 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,359 Speaker 1: you have like flatter nose, I feel like the otherwise 101 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 1: you just have to you have to navigate around a 102 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: lot of nose in some cases. All I'm saying, yeah, 103 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:13,320 Speaker 1: my kid and husband are in for a treat tonight. 104 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,080 Speaker 1: I'm gonna see how the nuzzling of eyebrows goes. Um. Well, 105 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:19,160 Speaker 1: here's the deal with kissing. Though. It is such an 106 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: important feature of the way that we communicate that there 107 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: is actually a field of study of it called philomatology, 108 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 1: and those people who are committed to studying kissing have 109 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:34,359 Speaker 1: brought us a bunch of information about its effects on 110 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: the brain and the body, because if you think about it, 111 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: it is really a full body event when you have 112 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:42,800 Speaker 1: a good smooch going on. It's true. Yeah, I mean, 113 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: just start breaking it down on a physical level, and 114 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: just not a physical level without getting into you know, 115 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: the nervous system and hormones and what have you. Um, 116 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:54,800 Speaker 1: I think just in terms, for instance, of the of 117 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:59,599 Speaker 1: the muscles, right, you have the orbicularious oris, and this 118 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:01,719 Speaker 1: runs around the outside of your mouth. Yeah, this is 119 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: if you push your lips together, it's kind of hard 120 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: to talk like that, kind of like a pucker those 121 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: that's the bricky lorius. Okay, so that's the big one. 122 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:13,240 Speaker 1: That's I mean that we're gonna discuss. There are a 123 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: lot of additional muscles, but that's one of the main 124 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: ones that you're flexing when you go in for a smooch, 125 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: because then you have several other muscles around the lips 126 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: that are moving. You have the zygomaticus major the zygomaticus minor, 127 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: you want to use them both of course. Also what 128 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 1: we're talking about thirty four different muscles here involved in 129 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: the smooch, Yeah, and about a hundred and twelve postural muscles. 130 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 1: So we think of your neck, back, and your chest 131 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 1: muscles all being engaged in a full on assault kiss. Yeah. 132 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 1: Some of the X ray images we're looking at when 133 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: we're putting together this podcast, and indeed the image that 134 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 1: should be the the cover image for this episode on 135 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: the landing page for this episode of Stuff to Blow 136 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:55,880 Speaker 1: Your Mind. Uh, you get this sense of this muscular face, 137 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 1: this communication array that we use to communicate and interact 138 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,240 Speaker 1: with the world. Then it's all. It's all involved in 139 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 1: this kiss, just on a muscular level, it is, and 140 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: it's exquisitely sensitive stuff going on here, because if you 141 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: think about it, it it all begins with the thinnest layer 142 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: of skin on our body. And of course I'm talking 143 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 1: about lips, which are among the most densely populated with 144 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 1: sensory neurons of any body region and as a result, 145 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 1: or about one hundred to two hundred times more sensitive 146 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: than the fingertips. To think of that, that just that 147 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: initial meeting of the lips is causing a lot of 148 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: data to be uploaded to your brain and carried there, 149 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 1: which is creating this cascading effect in your body. Yeah, 150 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,000 Speaker 1: a lot of its subconscious as we'll get too into 151 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:44,960 Speaker 1: as well. They do have nerves. They fire off five 152 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:48,680 Speaker 1: of our twelve cranial nerves. Uh, So you have all 153 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:52,320 Speaker 1: this this information firing through the nervous system, sensory information 154 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,199 Speaker 1: going to the brain for processing. Yeah, and that's right. 155 00:08:56,400 --> 00:09:01,280 Speaker 1: So it's shuttling on all sorts of messages um about temperature, tastes, 156 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:05,719 Speaker 1: smell and movements of this entire smooch going on in 157 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:09,840 Speaker 1: the summato sensory cortex, which extends from one side of 158 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:11,960 Speaker 1: the brain to the other, and it has a large 159 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: portion that's devoted to picking up signals from the lips, 160 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 1: the tongue, nose, and cheek areas, and then it maps 161 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:21,480 Speaker 1: that and in that map, the lips loom really large. 162 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:23,679 Speaker 1: It's kind of like a neon sign here when you're kissing, 163 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: because the size of each of those represented body parts 164 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 1: or regions is proportional to the density of its nerve endings. 165 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: So again, as I mentioned, the flips have a ton 166 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:36,319 Speaker 1: of nerve endings. When they're engaged on that map, it's 167 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,320 Speaker 1: just saying, hey, this is huge, this is important. Yeah. 168 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: It brings me back to the homunculous images that a 169 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 1: lot of people probably seen, Like not the actual medieval 170 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,360 Speaker 1: alchemical homuncular little dude, Yeah, not the little dude that 171 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:52,520 Speaker 1: you're growing in a vat. I love that, but the 172 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 1: representation of the human body as it would appear if 173 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: size was determined by nerve endings. So it's just like 174 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:00,440 Speaker 1: a little squat little dude with these enormous lips. Oh 175 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 1: I like that. Yeah. Um, So all of this is 176 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:07,200 Speaker 1: going on, and as a result, you have neurotransmitters and 177 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:11,679 Speaker 1: hormones being released, like dopamine. As we know, it's a 178 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:15,840 Speaker 1: neurotransmitter associated with feelings of deshire and reward, and it 179 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:19,440 Speaker 1: spikes in response to novel experiences, which is interesting because 180 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 1: that sort of explains why a kiss with someone new 181 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,960 Speaker 1: can feel so special. Yeah, there's a little bit of 182 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,080 Speaker 1: the butterflies and the nerves going on, but also this 183 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:30,360 Speaker 1: is new data that you're taking and that's really making 184 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:32,679 Speaker 1: the dopamine thing. Your brain is saying, my tongue has 185 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:34,960 Speaker 1: never been inside this mouth before. There's all sorts of 186 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: new information the process. And kissing also stimulates adrenaline, which 187 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:43,600 Speaker 1: helps our bodies to anticipate what might occur next. And yeah, 188 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 1: I mean it's all part of that. That's that stereotypical 189 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:49,679 Speaker 1: passionate kiss. You know, if you're watching the film and 190 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:51,800 Speaker 1: you see two people just sort of having this very 191 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:55,840 Speaker 1: stale moment together locking lips, you're not buying it, you know, 192 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,319 Speaker 1: they're not They're not releasing adrenaline, that's not getting them 193 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: ramped up. Yeah. It reminds me also of Gustav Climpse 194 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: the kiss, which is that all enfolding and encompassing kiss. 195 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,200 Speaker 1: That's you know, in the representation of two people kissing, 196 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 1: just this ornate display of colors and what looks like 197 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:18,199 Speaker 1: sensations in that painting. Yeah, I mean they the two 198 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:21,320 Speaker 1: individuals in a really bassionate kiss should look like they 199 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 1: are trying to eat each other with their mouths. Yeah. 200 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:27,400 Speaker 1: It should become like a auaborous thing. Yeah yeah, um, alright, 201 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 1: so we also have heart rates increasing and oxygen flowing 202 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:35,760 Speaker 1: more freely through the blood vessels pupils dilating. Its interesting. Yeah, 203 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:40,120 Speaker 1: this one I read is this supports the Yeah, this 204 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 1: one I read that might be the reason a lot 205 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,240 Speaker 1: of people close their eyes during a kiss, because otherwise 206 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 1: you're just staring into like really big, wide, crazy eyes 207 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:51,360 Speaker 1: the whole time, and that can be awkward. Yeah. All right, 208 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:53,559 Speaker 1: we're gonna take a quick break. When we get back, 209 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:57,040 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about the bacterial exchange of a 210 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 1: good old French kiss. All right, we're back, and this 211 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 1: is where things are going to get a lot more 212 00:12:09,559 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 1: interesting because a lot of what we've covered for sort 213 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:13,959 Speaker 1: of the basic mechanics of the kiss, and so a 214 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:15,480 Speaker 1: lot of you are probably thinking, well, of course, a 215 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:20,800 Speaker 1: lot of muscles are engaged of course, Uh, dopamine, serotonin, adrenaline, 216 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 1: what have you. Is released that seems to happen in 217 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:28,119 Speaker 1: any kind of human experience that we've discussed. It's worth discussing, 218 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 1: right Yeah, Like we we see a piece of chocolate cake, 219 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 1: same thing happens, right Yeah. But when you start looking 220 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:36,960 Speaker 1: at the bacterial level here, when you start looking at 221 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:42,839 Speaker 1: the kiss as a convergence of microbiomes, that's where things 222 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:46,160 Speaker 1: start really getting trippy and taking us a lot, a 223 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 1: lot further from the realm of passionate Valentine's Day kisses 224 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:53,760 Speaker 1: and Hollywood, uh hero saves the Day kisses. Yeah, this 225 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:55,600 Speaker 1: is where we're going to take that kiss and just 226 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,719 Speaker 1: make it the anti Valentine's kiss right now. And we'll 227 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:01,800 Speaker 1: do that by discussing it is in it because you've 228 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:06,360 Speaker 1: got that saliva, and you've got mucus membranes, and that's 229 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:10,600 Speaker 1: in about nine milli milli leaders of water and about 230 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:15,760 Speaker 1: point seven milligrams of that protein, point one eight milligrams 231 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 1: of organic compounds delicious, and point seven one milligrams of 232 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:21,600 Speaker 1: different fats. And then you have a little bit of 233 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:26,439 Speaker 1: sodium chloride at point four or five milligrams and maybe 234 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:30,360 Speaker 1: even up to seven different types of bacteria. And although 235 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,720 Speaker 1: it's it's you know, somewhat rare, it's possible to transmit 236 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:38,320 Speaker 1: mononucleosis herpie simplex one in gastric ulcers. So those are 237 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,599 Speaker 1: a couple of examples of germs that can be swapped 238 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 1: and lurking in your kisses mouth. It's basically two train 239 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:48,000 Speaker 1: cars arriving at the station at the same time, and 240 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: they both unload, and it's just people crossing each other 241 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,640 Speaker 1: to get onto each each train, which is you basically 242 00:13:54,679 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 1: just describe the study about the French kiss? Uh would was? 243 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:02,560 Speaker 1: I love that there's even a study about a French 244 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 1: kiss and I love that. Um. They were cruited twenty 245 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:10,480 Speaker 1: one couples in this study and had them snug for 246 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:13,800 Speaker 1: science essentially. Yeah, and this covered people between the ages 247 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:15,800 Speaker 1: of seventeen and forty five, so it's not just a 248 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 1: matter of finding a bunch of young kids and getting 249 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 1: them to smooch. It's so it's a little more varied 250 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 1: than that. Um. And before they locked lips, the participants 251 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:28,480 Speaker 1: were asked to swab out to measure the amount and 252 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:30,760 Speaker 1: the kinds of bacteria presence. You're getting a good idea 253 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 1: what the current population is inside of mouth A and 254 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:37,760 Speaker 1: mouth B and C and D yeah, baseline. Yeah. And 255 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:40,520 Speaker 1: then at this point they asked one member of each 256 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 1: kissing couple to eat some probiotic yogurt now. And the 257 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:50,840 Speaker 1: reason here is because this contains strains of Lactobacillus and 258 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:55,440 Speaker 1: bifeto bacteria serve as markers to look for in the kissy. Yeah, 259 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:58,560 Speaker 1: that's right, because they know that. The researchers know that 260 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:04,320 Speaker 1: normally saliva way contain about point one of Lacto basilius 261 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:10,280 Speaker 1: and biphobacteria. But after these these couples kissed and they 262 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 1: exchanged their content, it was found out that the bacteria 263 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:18,640 Speaker 1: in the non yogurt drinking partner rose to point by 264 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: four and this led the researchers to estimate that each 265 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:28,400 Speaker 1: intimate liplocked and tonguelocked kiss that can last ten seconds 266 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:33,240 Speaker 1: or more will transfer about eighty million bacteria into your 267 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 1: partner's mouth. Okay, so people are probably wondering at this 268 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 1: point is that a good thing or a bad thing, 269 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:40,720 Speaker 1: because it might sound if you, especially if you're a 270 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 1: little more on the germophobic side of things and maybe 271 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:47,760 Speaker 1: a little adverse to kissing strangers. On the bus already. 272 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:51,040 Speaker 1: This might sound like just an unnecessary invasion of your 273 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:54,200 Speaker 1: mouth space. It does. It sounds a little terrible, like 274 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:55,800 Speaker 1: why would we do this in the first place, But 275 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:57,480 Speaker 1: the fact of the matter is is that the higher 276 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:01,720 Speaker 1: the diversity of your microbi I am in your mouth, well, 277 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: the better it is for you. Okay, So the more kisses, 278 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:07,640 Speaker 1: the better, The more passionate the better. I mean, I 279 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:12,000 Speaker 1: wouldn't know, if someone has, you know, an outbreak around 280 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,120 Speaker 1: their mouth, I wouldn't go kissing on them, or if 281 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: someone is sneezing or you know, I wouldn't pursue you know, 282 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:23,800 Speaker 1: certain circumstances kissing. But yeah, in general, mean, what doesn't 283 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,120 Speaker 1: kill us makes us stronger, right, Okay. So if yeah, 284 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:29,120 Speaker 1: so the opportunity for a kiss comes about and it's 285 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,120 Speaker 1: like you would have taken it anyway, definitely go in 286 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:35,480 Speaker 1: and happy kiss because there's a potential health benefit there possibly, 287 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:38,040 Speaker 1: But don't hold us to that. All right, We're gonna 288 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:39,960 Speaker 1: do another break and when we come back, we're going 289 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:42,120 Speaker 1: to get into the nitty gritty or we're going to 290 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 1: get into the reasoning behind the kiss and and again, 291 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 1: because it's going to get into it even Traz your territory. 292 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:02,440 Speaker 1: All right, we are back. Why do we kiss? Propert Lamb? Well, 293 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 1: there are a few possibilities, right Um. One of the 294 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: big ones out there, and we touched on a little 295 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:11,040 Speaker 1: bit already, is that it's just something we started doing 296 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:12,720 Speaker 1: and that we learned. And you can point to those 297 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 1: ten percent of humans that don't kiss and say, well, 298 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 1: it's it's evidently not really a human thing across the board. 299 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,879 Speaker 1: So is it really in a human behavior or is 300 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,159 Speaker 1: it just something we saw on TV? Now I had 301 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:26,639 Speaker 1: to think about this one a bit and imagine most 302 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:28,720 Speaker 1: of you can can relate to this, like think back 303 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,960 Speaker 1: to your your first kiss, or even just the first 304 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,800 Speaker 1: time you wanted to kiss somebody, like why did you 305 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:36,800 Speaker 1: want to kiss them? Like? What was it? Just because 306 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 1: you saw it on a million movies and TV shows 307 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:41,440 Speaker 1: prior to that, and you saw it on every advertisement 308 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:44,800 Speaker 1: because especially here in the U S, it's it's everywhere 309 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:48,520 Speaker 1: in Western culture, it's the kisses everywhere? So am I 310 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:50,680 Speaker 1: just picking up on all those signals and thinking That's 311 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,160 Speaker 1: what I'm supposed to do, that is what is expected 312 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,400 Speaker 1: of me. I feel like at first it's a familiar thing, right, 313 00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 1: Like I look at that with my daughter who's just 314 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:02,920 Speaker 1: started kissing or friends at age four, no matter what, 315 00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:05,640 Speaker 1: because it was her expression of love. And now she's 316 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 1: six and she's just had her first kiss from a 317 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:11,720 Speaker 1: boy or however she's casting it. And she also has 318 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:15,840 Speaker 1: watched a lot of different things that are depicting kisses 319 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:20,800 Speaker 1: among opposite gendered people. I mean, I mean, she's not 320 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 1: watching soap operas or anything, but she's watching Ninjago, and 321 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:25,280 Speaker 1: you know, two of the characters have a little peck 322 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:28,680 Speaker 1: on the cheek or something. Um, So, in that respect, 323 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:31,520 Speaker 1: I see it as cultural. However, it's not that easy 324 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:34,879 Speaker 1: just to say that's the answer, right, So if we 325 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:38,400 Speaker 1: get into the idea that it is instinctive, they're they're 326 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:43,080 Speaker 1: roughly three different hypotheses for why do we kiss to arouse? 327 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,119 Speaker 1: Obviously sort of the ramping up to the actual uh 328 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 1: genetic genetic act of breeding with another person. Um, it's 329 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:54,520 Speaker 1: also the possibility that it's all about just cementing the relationship. 330 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: And again it has to do with with with with 331 00:18:56,880 --> 00:19:03,960 Speaker 1: mate bonding or essentially testing out of a potential mate 332 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,480 Speaker 1: kind of a genetic test. And this is where things 333 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:09,800 Speaker 1: get really fascinating. Yeah, and I did want to mention 334 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:12,200 Speaker 1: too before we kind of dive into those topics when 335 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:15,280 Speaker 1: when we talk about it being learned. Um, there is 336 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:19,080 Speaker 1: a British zoologist and author, Desmond Morris, who in the 337 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:22,560 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties first proposed that kissing could have evolved from 338 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,880 Speaker 1: the practice in which primate mothers chewed food for their 339 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:29,359 Speaker 1: young and then fed the mouth to mouth, so preasticating food. 340 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:31,680 Speaker 1: And I feel like we talked about this, Yeah, we've 341 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,679 Speaker 1: talked about I feel like we've talked about that in 342 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:39,640 Speaker 1: terms of passing on beneficial bacteria to the young as well. Again, 343 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:43,240 Speaker 1: mouth to mouth contact comes down to bacteria and the 344 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:48,840 Speaker 1: microbiome and and very minute data passed between mother and child, 345 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:53,040 Speaker 1: between two mates, etcetera. So evolutionary biology might say something 346 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:55,320 Speaker 1: along the lines of, so if chimps do it, so 347 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,720 Speaker 1: two could have our hamt id, and so might we. 348 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:01,240 Speaker 1: And in fact, they're are a plenty of other cultures 349 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:03,359 Speaker 1: today that will actually do that to cheat their food 350 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:05,840 Speaker 1: for their baby and instead of using the grinder or something, 351 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:09,560 Speaker 1: cheat some food for my son before, I mean, not 352 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,120 Speaker 1: not super recently, but it's been done. I mean because 353 00:20:13,119 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: he's like sixteen now, right, but you know, you find 354 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:18,240 Speaker 1: yourself in those situations where it's like, all right, I 355 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:20,800 Speaker 1: could get out a knife and and cut this in 356 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 1: half for him, or I can just bite the thing 357 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:25,560 Speaker 1: in half and give him part of it. Why not? Sure? 358 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:28,000 Speaker 1: And I mean right, it's a convenient thing. And then 359 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:30,840 Speaker 1: you put the nursing equation with us, which it really 360 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:34,320 Speaker 1: gets sort of interesting here because then the child may 361 00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:38,080 Speaker 1: be learning to associate lip pressure with a loving act. Now, 362 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:41,080 Speaker 1: consider that two thirds of all people turn their head 363 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:44,280 Speaker 1: to the right when kissing. And this is according to 364 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:49,080 Speaker 1: psychologists on your constrick of your university in Germany. And 365 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,520 Speaker 1: now stay with me. Why does that matter? Because this 366 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:55,960 Speaker 1: behavior may mirror the head turning preference observed in babies 367 00:20:56,000 --> 00:21:02,800 Speaker 1: when their breastbed. Huh huh it is. It's a hum moment, right, 368 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 1: It's something to consider, just the whole right handed thing. 369 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 1: Like I'm trying to think back on and every kiss 370 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:11,359 Speaker 1: I've ever had if I turned to the right, and 371 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:12,919 Speaker 1: I guess that means that the other person turned to 372 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 1: the right too, right, because yeah, I know, againe it 373 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:19,439 Speaker 1: agether another test from my husband and my daughter running tonight. 374 00:21:20,359 --> 00:21:22,480 Speaker 1: So anyway, just a couple of things to think about 375 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:25,359 Speaker 1: But there are other reasons that we do this. Indeed, 376 00:21:25,359 --> 00:21:27,280 Speaker 1: and this is where it comes back to that old song. 377 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:30,320 Speaker 1: It's in his kiss, right, like if he loves you 378 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:34,800 Speaker 1: or something, it's in his kiss. That's good. Yeah, that's 379 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:38,680 Speaker 1: the one. So in a way, I'm not sure about love. 380 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,479 Speaker 1: Love is a whole different kettle of fish. But the 381 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:46,800 Speaker 1: idea of just pure genetic mate selection, just the straight 382 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:51,720 Speaker 1: up genetic mission that that that governs our lives. Human 383 00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 1: a needs to find a human being so that they 384 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,200 Speaker 1: can procreate and and do what their their their genes 385 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:00,280 Speaker 1: are telling them to do. The idea here is that 386 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:03,760 Speaker 1: a kiss serves as an act of chemical profiling that 387 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,680 Speaker 1: human will. A sticks its tongue into human bees mouth 388 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,479 Speaker 1: and uh and and basically conducts a core sample of 389 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,760 Speaker 1: what that that person consists of, particularly their immune system 390 00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:18,400 Speaker 1: and uh and then crunches that data to see if 391 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:20,359 Speaker 1: this is the type of person that they want to 392 00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:23,640 Speaker 1: bread with. It's a real possibility, especially when you consider 393 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,960 Speaker 1: that A two thousand and nine study of one thousand 394 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,920 Speaker 1: college students by Gordon Gallup Jr. A professor of psychology 395 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:35,359 Speaker 1: at the University of Albany, showed that of men and 396 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:38,720 Speaker 1: sixty percent of women reported that after feeling attracted to 397 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:45,240 Speaker 1: someone initially, the attraction ended after the first kiss, so 398 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:48,280 Speaker 1: that just that one kiss put the kai bosh on. Hey, 399 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:50,520 Speaker 1: I don't think we should really go any further here. 400 00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:54,320 Speaker 1: As reading that, Cheryl Christian Baum, author of the Science 401 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:56,960 Speaker 1: of Kissing, found that women are attracted to men who 402 00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:59,919 Speaker 1: have a different genetic code from their own immune system, 403 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,000 Speaker 1: which is of course the hallmark of sexual reproduction. You 404 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:04,520 Speaker 1: want to have two different sets of genes so you 405 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:10,000 Speaker 1: can produce variety in the offspring, right, better, better, stronger offspring, 406 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:13,600 Speaker 1: and have a better potential for survival. Um. And this 407 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 1: this kind of meshes with some of the stats to 408 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:18,800 Speaker 1: show that that women tend to be more into the 409 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:21,320 Speaker 1: kiss than the men. Well, it is interesting to see 410 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:26,040 Speaker 1: that slight uptick that men and sixty six percent. You 411 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 1: could say, to a certain smaller degree, women are a 412 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:32,520 Speaker 1: little bit more discriminating when it comes to trying to 413 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:36,840 Speaker 1: ferret out whether or not that person it's compatible with them. Um. 414 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:40,200 Speaker 1: Gordon g. Gallup says that kissing is quote a complicated 415 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:44,919 Speaker 1: exchange of information or factory information, tactile information, and postural 416 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,760 Speaker 1: types of adjustments that may tap into underlying evolved in 417 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:53,480 Speaker 1: unconscious mechanisms that enable people to make determinations about the 418 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:57,560 Speaker 1: degree to which they are genetically incompatible. So to your 419 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:02,400 Speaker 1: point earlier, some of this is just subconscious information being processed. Yeah, 420 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:05,720 Speaker 1: because when you're engaged in that passionate kiss, uh, you're 421 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:07,520 Speaker 1: not thinking about all this. You're not thinking, all right, 422 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:09,040 Speaker 1: is this the one is just said, I wonder what 423 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,400 Speaker 1: their jeans are like, I wonder if if we can 424 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:13,840 Speaker 1: we can produce a child that's going to survive the 425 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:17,240 Speaker 1: next big plague or what have you. But under the surface, 426 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,520 Speaker 1: there's a lot, potentially a lot of computation going on. Yeah. 427 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:23,639 Speaker 1: And when you look at literature on kissing, a lot 428 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:27,680 Speaker 1: of people will site the old sweaty armpits study of 429 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:34,240 Speaker 1: women sniffing the the t shirts of men that have, 430 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,280 Speaker 1: you know, their sweat on it. And the conclusion to 431 00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:39,800 Speaker 1: that was that they were attracted to men who had 432 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:45,399 Speaker 1: different um sent profiles from themselves that indicated that the 433 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:49,159 Speaker 1: men's immune systems were different from them. So that again, 434 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 1: the greater the diversity here, the better for any sort 435 00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:57,640 Speaker 1: of coupling and perhaps producing of a child later on. Yeah, 436 00:24:57,680 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 1: and I do want to come back as well to 437 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:04,320 Speaker 1: again that the fact that a passionate kiss especially is 438 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaker 1: not just a matter of the lips. It's a it's 439 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:11,360 Speaker 1: potentially a full body kind of experience. You're you're engaging 440 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:14,240 Speaker 1: in all of your senses, So it's a it's like 441 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:18,639 Speaker 1: a full sensory read out of an individual. But but 442 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,880 Speaker 1: at the at the shallow end of the intimacy pool. Yeah, 443 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:26,240 Speaker 1: there was actually just reminds me of the writer Flannery O'Connor, 444 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:30,160 Speaker 1: and there was a fellow writer who tried to pursue 445 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:32,679 Speaker 1: a kiss with her, and he said that it was 446 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:38,280 Speaker 1: so devoid of passion and really any sort of um 447 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:43,240 Speaker 1: connection that he called it a memento mori. That's what 448 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:47,600 Speaker 1: she was communicating to him is, you know, there's absolutely 449 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:50,359 Speaker 1: nothing that's going to go on here, momenta morian is 450 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,640 Speaker 1: in terms of the the artistic tradition of having these 451 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:58,240 Speaker 1: images that they reminds you that death is imminent. Death 452 00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:03,720 Speaker 1: is the ultimate um destination in life. Right, It's like 453 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:06,400 Speaker 1: kissing the grim Reaper a little. Yeah, I think there 454 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,360 Speaker 1: were no sparks there between the two. Now, the big 455 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:14,960 Speaker 1: question becomes, of course humans do it? Do other species kiss? Well? 456 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:18,359 Speaker 1: Basically No, I mean because when you when you start 457 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:22,719 Speaker 1: looking at the human kiss, and in all its varied forms, 458 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:26,800 Speaker 1: and especially the passionate human kiss, there's nothing really like 459 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,880 Speaker 1: apples to apples like it elsewhere in the animal k Yeah, 460 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:34,000 Speaker 1: some of its interpretation too, right. So you see great 461 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:38,520 Speaker 1: apes press their lips together to express excitement, affection, or reconciliation. 462 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:40,640 Speaker 1: That's a big deal too, right, like saying, Okay, it's 463 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:44,560 Speaker 1: we're good here, right, we're all cooperating. Maybe this happens 464 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:48,280 Speaker 1: after um, there's been some sort of fight or agitation. 465 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:52,760 Speaker 1: And according to Chip Walter, writing for Scientific American, binobo's, 466 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:57,040 Speaker 1: which are genetically similar to us, although of course um 467 00:26:57,119 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 1: we are not their direct descendants, are particularly passionate bunch 468 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:05,600 Speaker 1: again the interpretation here and in in that article for 469 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:10,840 Speaker 1: Scientific American, Walter says that Fronds B. M. Duwal, who 470 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:15,840 Speaker 1: is Emery professor, recounts a zookeeper who accepted what he 471 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:17,480 Speaker 1: thought would be a friendly kiss from one of the 472 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:22,480 Speaker 1: banobo's until he felt the apes tongue in his mouth. Now, 473 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:25,120 Speaker 1: if you look to other animals, you'll find other examples 474 00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:29,960 Speaker 1: of sensory apparati engaging with each other. Snails caressing antenna's 475 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:34,800 Speaker 1: birds touching beaks. There's a lot of snout licking going on. 476 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:37,680 Speaker 1: I mean, really, if you base your research just solely 477 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:41,200 Speaker 1: on YouTube clips, look, then it seems like every animal kisses, 478 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:45,440 Speaker 1: especially animals that are pets, animals that we've anthropomorphized to 479 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:50,040 Speaker 1: varying degrees, right, Yeah, and elephants too with their trunks entangled, right, 480 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:54,600 Speaker 1: And they've been observed doing this before too, and trying 481 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:58,159 Speaker 1: to calm each other down, and um, what seems like 482 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:00,280 Speaker 1: calming each other down? I mean if you break down 483 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:04,160 Speaker 1: a kiss into the into terms of one partner, particularly 484 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:08,240 Speaker 1: that a female getting some sensory information on a potential mate, 485 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:10,800 Speaker 1: then you see the various exams. I mean, even a 486 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:15,800 Speaker 1: giraffe sampling urine is essentially the same sort of communication 487 00:28:16,119 --> 00:28:18,679 Speaker 1: that's going on with a kiss. Yeah. And as Walter 488 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:21,639 Speaker 1: had indicated in the quote that I read at the beginning, 489 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 1: a kiss can be so many different things. It can 490 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:28,120 Speaker 1: be sexually motivated, or it could be a cooperative kiss, right, 491 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:30,400 Speaker 1: or as you had mentioned too, there's like the kiss 492 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:33,359 Speaker 1: of death. So the motivations are just as varied as 493 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:38,760 Speaker 1: anything else in the human experience or in the animal experience. Now, 494 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 1: there's some additional benefits to kissing. Um. We already touched 495 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:49,920 Speaker 1: on potential microbiome related benefits, but just on a regular, relieving, 496 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:53,520 Speaker 1: daily stress level of activity, it seems like a good 497 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:57,360 Speaker 1: passionate kiss here and there will definitely set you right. Yeah, 498 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:01,840 Speaker 1: it will reduce your stress hormone cortisol, thereby lowering blood 499 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:05,240 Speaker 1: pressure and optimizing your immune response. That's the thought at least. 500 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:09,400 Speaker 1: And it could even help fight cavities, right Like, if 501 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: if you swapped spit with someone else via a kiss, 502 00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:16,479 Speaker 1: then you may adopt a bacterial strain that can really 503 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,600 Speaker 1: fight against plaque that you lack. You you lack this 504 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:22,880 Speaker 1: bacterial strain. In fact, there's this idea that you could 505 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:27,400 Speaker 1: even one day have bacterial mouth transplants. I mean, you 506 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:30,560 Speaker 1: call them kisses, but I mean you could actively seek 507 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:34,800 Speaker 1: someone who has a great bacterial profile in their mouth 508 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:37,680 Speaker 1: and say, I would like some of your saliva. Yeah. 509 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:40,400 Speaker 1: And also it's just worth noting that kissing, the very 510 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:43,400 Speaker 1: active kissing, also produces more saliva in your mouth, and 511 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:47,240 Speaker 1: more saliva is good if you want your natural defenses 512 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:51,120 Speaker 1: against plaque to take action. Indeed, Um, so that's kind 513 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:52,920 Speaker 1: of you know, an overall. I mean, and it's just 514 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:57,280 Speaker 1: great too. Write kissing is a pretty awesome thing. I 515 00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:01,040 Speaker 1: like it. Um, it can also apparently ease pain. There's 516 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:03,960 Speaker 1: there's some evidence for this is a little a little 517 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:06,040 Speaker 1: if you be aware of anyone who says they'll take 518 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:10,600 Speaker 1: your pain away with a kiss. But you do have 519 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:15,680 Speaker 1: blood vessel dilation going on, so arguably there can be 520 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:18,600 Speaker 1: some minor level of pain relief going on, or at 521 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:21,040 Speaker 1: least distraction. That's what I was thinking. At the very least, 522 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:25,440 Speaker 1: it's distracting in a good way if it's welcomed, of course. Um, 523 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:29,600 Speaker 1: and let's let's talk about welcomed and I'm welcomed kisses too, 524 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:32,720 Speaker 1: because I've read this a little bit. If you engage 525 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:35,720 Speaker 1: in kissing with your pets, you might want to think twice. 526 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:39,520 Speaker 1: Dogs can carry worms, fun guy, And they can carry 527 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:43,320 Speaker 1: pathogenetic pastorella in their mouths. And cats. Don't even get 528 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:46,120 Speaker 1: started on cats. It's like a far worse thing. Well, 529 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:49,040 Speaker 1: if you own either of these animals, and I own 530 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:51,760 Speaker 1: a cat, like, you see what they do, You see 531 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:54,920 Speaker 1: where they you see what they're up to. All right, 532 00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:57,760 Speaker 1: So there you have it. Um, Hey, if you want 533 00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:00,440 Speaker 1: more on this topic, other topics we've covered in the past. 534 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:02,280 Speaker 1: Go to stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. That's 535 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:05,720 Speaker 1: where you'll find all of our past episodes or videos 536 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:08,600 Speaker 1: or blog posts. Links out to our social media accounts, 537 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:10,880 Speaker 1: information on how to contact us, pictures of what we 538 00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:14,040 Speaker 1: look like, pretty much everything. It's the mothership. Oh, and 539 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:16,200 Speaker 1: also go to how stuff works dot com. Check out 540 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 1: how Kissing Works by tray C. V. Wilson. Yeah, this 541 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:21,440 Speaker 1: article goes into the history, goes into the you know, 542 00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:23,440 Speaker 1: the muscles, the nerves, a lot of the information we've 543 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:25,360 Speaker 1: discussed here, and you can just you can get it 544 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:28,800 Speaker 1: all illustrated out there for you, uh, in the ten 545 00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:31,640 Speaker 1: pages or so. Yeah. Also real quick, um, if you're 546 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:34,280 Speaker 1: interested in finding out more about that study, it's a 547 00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:37,240 Speaker 1: two thousand and fourteen study. It's called Shaping the Oral 548 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:41,360 Speaker 1: Microbiota through Intimate Kissing. That's the French kissing. One eighty 549 00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:43,720 Speaker 1: million bacteria is strong. All right, you have thoughts, well, 550 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:46,080 Speaker 1: we would like to put our eyes on them. Please 551 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:48,200 Speaker 1: send them our way, and you can do that by 552 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,360 Speaker 1: sending an email to below the mind at how stuff 553 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:57,400 Speaker 1: works dot com for more on this and thousands of 554 00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:00,600 Speaker 1: other topics. Does it How stuff Works dot Com, difficult 555 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:03,920 Speaker 1: to get youth group, difficult to eat Parlia