--- title: 6 Weird Things You Never Knew About Kissing description: Who knew kissing could make you healthier in so many ways? canonical: https://time.com/3701815/weird-things-about-kissing/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-13T16:10:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:02:49.239Z article:section: Health og:title: 6 Weird Things You Never Knew About Kissing og:description: Who knew kissing could make you healthier in so many ways? og:url: https://time.com/3701815/weird-things-about-kissing/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a8f240d6117c651/69877e50f887dc261de8a01b/525161909-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5222 og:image:height: 2937 og:image:alt: lip-prints-envelope og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 6 Weird Things You Never Knew About Kissing twitter:description: Who knew kissing could make you healthier in so many ways? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a8f240d6117c651/69877e50f887dc261de8a01b/525161909-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 6 Weird Things You Never Knew About Kissing > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=ae28faf8-f02b-4554-9cc2-c541aa0bad2e&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 5 Kisses That Made History [Watch (HLS stream): 5 Kisses That Made History](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/g8XCEzQs.m3u8) (1:34)  _Published 2017-02-14. From Auguste Rodin's The Kiss to V-J Day in Times Square._ by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor Feb 13, 2015 4:10 PM UTC by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor Feb 13, 2015 4:10 PM UTC Romantic kissing happens in more than 90% of all cultures, and with good reason: “It helps us find a partner and stay with them,” says Laura Berman, PhD, assistant clinical professor of ob-gyn and psychiatry at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago and author of _Loving Sex_ ($25, amazon.com). But it also has a slew of surprising functions, including some major health benefits. Pucker up to these fascinating facts. **It may be the most fun way to build immunity** Just 10 seconds of French kissing can transfer 80 million germs from one person’s mouth to the other, according to a Dutch study published this past November in the journal _Microbiome_. While that may sound gross, there’s a big potential benefit. “It’s a way to pass around bugs so your body develops immunity to them,” Berman explains. In fact, a 2010 paper in the journal _Medical Hypotheses_ suggested that kissing between partners could help protect their babies from being infected in utero with cytomegalovirus, which can cause birth defects such as infant blindness. **Read more:** [13 Reasons to Have More Sex](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20845824,00.html?xid=fox-kissing-020915) **It really is ‘in his kiss’** Women rate romantic kissing as more important when they’re close to ovulation—in other words, when they’re more likely to get pregnant. This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, researchers say: Kissing offers a way to assess a mate through taste or smell. **It may boost your libido** While both sexes enjoy French kissing with long-term partners, guys “preferred more tongue contact” than women with short-term mates, according to a study published in the journal _Evolutionary Psychology_ in 2007\. (The study was done with college students, so you might want to take it with a grain of salt.) “One theory is that their saliva transfers testosterone to the woman, which in turn increases her sexual desire,” explains Berman. **Read more:** [15 Everyday Habits to Boost Your Libido](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20778590,00.html?xid=fox-kissing-020915) **It boosts happy hormones** “When you kiss, your brain releases this chemical that leaves you feeling connected and bonded to your mate,” explains Berman. It also releases endorphins, those same feel-good chemicals your body produces when you work out. Another relaxing bonus: kissing lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol, according to a 2009 study done at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. **It may save your relationship** Both men and women who report frequent kissing in their relationship report more sexual satisfaction, according to a 2011 Kinsey Institute study. Guys who frequently smooched were also three times happier in their relationship than guys with limited snuggling. (Interestingly, frequent kissing didn’t predict relationship satisfaction for women.) **It can last for days—literally** The longest kiss award goes to Ekkachai Tiranarat and Laksana Tiranarat, who smooched for 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds in Pattaya, Thailand, on February 12-14, 2013\. They beat out eight other couples who entered the competition. Wonder how much training they had to do to prepare for that one! **Read more:** [20 Ways to Fall in Love All Over Again](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20896491,00.html?xid=fox-kissing-020915) [_This article originally appeared on Health.com._](http://news.health.com/2015/02/02/6-weird-things-you-never-knew-about-kissing/) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] This kiss commissioned in 1888 cemented Auguste Rodin's reputation at a time when he was struggling to get recognition. Its hundreds of bronze casts also made him rich. [ NOISE ] It was extremely controversial for Victorian audiences. When it came to the US in 1893 for the world's fair in Chicago, it had to be shown in a private room. And women were advised not to go see it. It was one of the most scandalous sculptures of its time, but went on to redefine what a kiss looks like, especially in art and film. Speaking of film, this kiss from Thomas Edison's film called The Kiss is considered the first movie kiss. Actors May Irwin and John Rice share a 19 second smooch in this 1896 film shot by Edison's videoscope cinema projector Critics called it disgusting, but kissing in movies was here to stay. This kiss is technically called VJ day in Times Square. Alfred [ UNKNOWN ] took a photograph for Life magazine. It came to symbolize the relief and hope represented by the end of World War II. It has since provoked controversy over who the kissers where and what exactly was going on, but it is the most frequently reproduced picture of the 20th century. This kiss is actually an electrical worker trying to resuscitate his co- worker after an electrocution. The 1968 photo by Rocco Morabito called kiss of life became the first spot news photo ever to win a Pulitzer Prize. Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German President Erich Honecker shared this fraternal Kremlin kiss in honor of the 30th anniversary of the German Democratic Republic in 1979. 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