THE KISS

A study by a Canadian anthropologist demonstrated that 97
percent of women shut their eyes during a kiss but only 37
percent of men did. The late actor Anthony Quinn had an
explanation: "Many a husband kisses with his eyes wide open.
He wants to make sure his wife is not around to catch him."

Kissing on the lips is something the Romans started. A
husband returning from work would kiss his wife's lips to
see if she'd been drinking during the day. In fact, the
Romans were so keen on kissing that Emperor Tiberius was
obliged to ban the practice after an epidemic of lip sores.

The French kiss itself was invented in the Brittany village
of Pays de Mont as a substitute for sex because the
population was growing too fast.

In writing, XXXs have been used to represent kisses. The
origins of this go back to the days when people couldn't
write signed their name with an X. To emphasize their
sincerity, they would then kiss their mark. This practice
of kissing the X led to the X's representing a kiss.

Human beings are not the only mammals that kiss. Polar bears
and kangaroos kiss. Chimpanzees can and do French kiss. Sea
lions rub mouths, a male mouse licks the mouth of a female
mouse, and an elephant sometimes brushes its trunk against
another elephant's lips.

An American insurance company discovered that men were less
likely to have a car accident if they were kissed before
they set off.

~That Book of Perfectly Useless Information~