# kiss me im hungry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 13, 1999, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-me-im-hungry/5302 "1999-12-13T16:18:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![widespreadpannik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/71c47a/32.png) [@widespreadpannik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widespreadpannik)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 1999, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-me-im-hungry/5302/1 "1999-12-13T16:18:00Z")
where did kissing originate. look at birds they feed their young mouth to mouth. is it true that kissing came from this, before knives and forks came along and packaged baby food. ---
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 1999, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-me-im-hungry/5302/2 "1999-12-13T16:30:00Z")
Theories I’ve heard are something like that. It’s not uncommon for mammals to pass food that way as well, especially since some young mammals are born toothless. ---
**Author:** ![widespreadpannik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/71c47a/32.png) [@widespreadpannik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widespreadpannik)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 1999, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-me-im-hungry/5302/3 "1999-12-13T16:39:00Z")
how do you think kissing became something we do with people outside of the family circle. where i guess it originated from close proximity to the family. ---
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 1999, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-me-im-hungry/5302/4 "1999-12-13T16:51:00Z")
Well, that’s a good question. I suppose if it were something usually reserved for family members, when you do it with someone else you’re saying, “Hey, you’re an honorary part of my family now. I’d give you the food right of my mouth if it weren’t such a yucky thing to do.” More standoffish cultures tend to discourage kissing, just as they would tend to extend their families more reluctantly. Americans tend to have small nuclear families, and don’t tend to kiss too many people (lovers and family members). When we say “My home is your home” we often say it in Spanish. In countries with major hospitality traditions, where guests are treated like kings and invited to stay forever, kissing is probably freer and more open. I admit that I haven’t done any real “correlation studies” between kissing and overall hospitality, or between kissing and family size. It’s just that, in Europe, I’ve noticed immense hospitality, hugs common, handshakes mandatory (maybe the handshake is derived from food trades, as well?). I don’t think the expression “So and so ate me out of house and home!” originated in Europe. In the U.S., when you’re in someone’s house you’d best treat it like their castle. ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 1999, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-me-im-hungry/5302/5 "1999-12-13T17:24:00Z")
I don’t know anything about kissing, but. . . > [@](#): > > (maybe the handshake is derived from food trades, as well?) I think that handshakes come from this: when knights and such would meet, they would offer eachother their sword hand as a gesture of peace. Anybody able to back me up on this? * * * Cessandra Killed a man with no hands. . . ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-me-im-hungry/5302/6 "1999-12-14T06:13:00Z")
I’ll back you up, Cessandra, but I heard it in the Boy Scouts, not a very reliable source in my opinion. It does make sense though, that if you were a knight or other such warrior you might want to get ahold of that hand before your friend betrays you. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 1999, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kiss-me-im-hungry/5302/7 "1999-12-14T06:18:00Z")
Kissing originated by using the search button here to find the 100 answers on it already. PS: Like most things, it has no known origin, so why search? 🙂