12 interesting facts about the history of the kiss

Statistical studies have shown that people remember to 85-90 per cent of all the details for which there was their first kiss. This memory is 2-3 times less than the details of the death and funeral of their parents, the loss of virginity, or the birth of their first child.

1. There are three theories of origin of the kiss.

The first is that the root cause of a kiss is motherhood. When a child throwing a chest, but I could not even bite and chew on their own solid food, for it is the mother did, to turn food into a liquid slurry, and then pass it on to their offspring, so to speak, by word of mouth. Then the action began to play the role of pacifiers: to deceive and calm the child, the mother simply touched her lips to his, simulating the process of feeding. But in the end touch lips lips acquired the meaning of tenderness and affection.

The second theory sees the kiss simple imitation of animals. For example, birds that during courtship dances, among other manipulation, touch each other with their beaks (hence - "miluyutsya as doves"). Or - "kissing fish" gourami. True, gourami in fact it is not a manifestation of tenderness: because the males fight for territory and females. They just face off mouths: one is smaller, the inglorious leaving "battlefield».

A third theory says that a kiss from our ancestors supposed peaceful intentions: touching outstretched lips instead of fierce grin teeth, ready to grab the throat of the enemy.

2. All of these theories, each of which has its own spectacular and convincing divided, however, on one unexplainable phenomenon - the behavior of chimpanzees. These are our distant relatives touching, quite human, hugging the neck of someone they love, and pressed it to his lips. And none zoopsychologists unable to explain the origin of the expression of such tenderness.

3. Ancient people connected with the spiritual power of the breath of man and gives him a healing action. From those distant times the tradition of kissing the child was left a bruise or a scratch, saying: "Well, all gone!". Hence, too - a fantastic story, where a handsome prince kiss awakens the sleeping beauty or the frog turns into a princess.

4. The first written evidence about the kiss in human history date back to the Persian inscriptions which are about 4 thousand years. In the V century BC, Herodotus also mentions the kiss, and also in connection with the Persians. True, this is not the kiss. "The Persians - wrote Herodotus, - equal social status when meeting men kiss each other on the mouth, and unequal - cheek».

5. zenith habit of kissing has reached the ancient Romans. Kissing all: men, women, children, relatives, friends and acquaintances hardly; kissing everywhere: at home, on the streets and in public places. Lubricate the lips special aromatic lipstick to kiss was nice. In short, it took on the character of madness, and the Emperor Tiberius special decree brought the epidemic or kissing up to a reasonable size.

6. In the ancient world and the Middle Ages the kiss at the meeting showed the position in the social structure. Equal kissed each other on the lips if the difference was not particularly sharp - on the cheeks. If the steps of dividing the people on the social ladder, it was enough, then, depending on their number, the lower the highest kissed his hand, shoulder, knee, foot or skirt. And the servant was obliged to kiss the ground at the feet of his master.

7. The terrible plague and smallpox in Europe, claiming the lives of almost half the population of the continent, have made adjustments to the ancient traditions. By the Renaissance appeared entirely new forms of etiquette: a deep bow waving a hat in front of him (and then it turned into a little bow and a simple touch of the hat); kiss a woman's hand in a glove (later it turned into a slight tilt of the head and shaking of the hand); men appeared handshake when meeting and parting; Finally, there was a "kiss».

8. Kissing became divided into "social" and "sensual". "Social" kissing - before a long separation, after a long separation or congratulation - different peoples are made differently. Russian, Belgians and Arabs, for example, kissing three times, Americans and French - twice in each cheek. The Austrians are limited to kiss the woman's hand, and the countries of the Mediterranean and Latin America have traditionally kiss the man. The Chinese never kiss in public, as Nigerians do not kiss at all ever. Even during the wedding ceremony the Chinese (as well as Koreans from Japanese) "betrothed" limited to bow to each other and guests. In Cambodia, only the groom to the bride's nose touches the cheek. Eskimos rub noses accepted, while Indonesians - kiss behind a curtain so that nobody saw.

9. The most amazing custom associated with kisses, exists in Ireland. Near the small village of Blarney Castle is an ancient XV century - Blarney Castle. In one of its walls, a meter below the teeth, crowning the wall is embedded sparkling polished black stone - "Blarney Stone,". Often you can see a strange scene: two men standing on the site of the castle, held for the third leg, which is hanging upside down, kisses "Blarney Stone,". The Irish are absolutely convinced that kissed the stone gets a special gift of eloquence that allows him to master the heart of any woman. And if you look in a good English dictionary, make sure you will find there the verb «to blarney». It is usually translated as "flattering," but originally it probably corresponded to Russian "ohmuryat».

10. In 1896, in New York screened the film "The Kiss". The reaction to it can only be compared with the 12-point storm. Here is what wrote after that "New York Times", "Gargantuan proportions increase to this disgusting spectacle does not cause anything but a sense of nausea. Immediate intervention of the police - that is all that is required ».

Meanwhile, a kiss on the screen of those years looked over innocently: hero-lover hurriedly jumped to the heroine, embracing her as a session of the French struggle, nodding somewhere that was supposed to depict a kiss, and just as quickly rebounded.

11. «Civil rights" kiss was on the screen thanks to two great kinolyubovnikam twenties - Rudolph Valentino and John Barrymore. First worked, so to speak, the technique of this case, the second - set not beaten the record to this day: in the movie "Don Juan" (1926), he managed to kiss their partners on the film 191 times!

12. In the thirties in Hollywood was established iron limitation: the duration of the kiss should not exceed three seconds, kissing had to stand firmly on the ground (no hangs or on the neck, lightheadedness, lifting legs, and even more so, no sex in bed). However, very soon it appeared again "or kissing dissidents" - Cary Grant and Clark Gable. And they, of course, imitated all the other actors.

After the sexual revolution of the 1960s Kiss - on screen and in life - has become a daily and innocent pastime. And there is a new technique: the partners must, above all, well, shark, gaping mouths, and then voluptuously chewing each other, noisy breathing.

via factroom.ru