# Kissing - where and when did it originate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 19, 2000, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308 "2000-12-19T06:52:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2000, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/1 "2000-12-19T06:52:52Z")
I read a historical novel set in feudal Japan and there is a comment about a geisha doing something she picked up from Westerners, that was thought of as quite odd by the main character - kissing on the mouth. I knew that the Inuit did not kiss, but I thought this might have been because of their isolation, but apparently the practice was unheard of in many Asian cultures. This made me to wonder - does anyone know when and where the practice started? I know it made it to the Indian subcontinent some time ago, having read the Kama Sutra and it’s detailed advice on kissing, and it’s very common in the Middle East. What cultures did not kiss, or did not kiss until rather recently? ---
**Author:** ![Moonshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Moonshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonshine)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2000, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/2 "2000-12-19T10:55:47Z")
I can’t say who does and does not snog, but Desmond Morris once advanced a theory that kissing evolved from mothers chewing their food through for their children and then passing it to them mouth-to-mouth, a long time ago. If that is the case the interesting question of why some cultures don’t do it poses itself; with the Inuit the weather would be a factor, but with Asian cultures? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2000, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/3 "2000-12-19T12:06:19Z")
The tissues of the mouth are more packed with nerve endings than any other part of the body. You feel more there. What better place to experience sensuousness (without taking your clothes off, I mean)? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2000, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/4 "2000-12-19T15:42:29Z")
The origin of kissing, which has been discuused before, has no set origin. I would guess that a cave woman would chew food & dribble that into a childs mouth as the most likely origin. The best kiss is the DeSade one. ---
**Author:** ![Gone\_The\_Sun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Gone\_The\_Sun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gone_The_Sun)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/5 "2000-12-20T22:03:14Z")
From [http://www.kissing.com/faqkiss.html](http://www.kissing.com/faqkiss.html) Anthropologists think the custom originated in the transfer of food from mother’s to baby’s mouths, a kind of lip contact that adults continued. But as I point out in other chapters on kissing from around the world, customs differ from culture to culture, and there are some places where kissing is really bizarre. Check out Harpers Magazine (Feb. 1996) for more on the origin of kissing. From [http://www.anatomy.usyd.edu.au/danny/anthropology/sci.anthropology/archive/november-1996/0188.html](http://www.anatomy.usyd.edu.au/danny/anthropology/sci.anthropology/archive/november-1996/0188.html) The founder of human ethology, prof. Irenaeus Eibl-Eibesfeldt has found the most plausible explanation of the origin of the kiss, I have ever seen: In ‘primitive’ societies, where you cannot get canned baby-food, parents chew the food for their babies and stuff it into the mouth of the baby by mouth to mouth contact, pushing it with their tongue. This is called kiss-feeding. This behavior pattern has evolved into a ritual of kissing the baby, transferring only saliva. The function of this ritual is to show affection rather than to feed. In many animal species (including Homo Sapiens) mates give each other food as part of the courtship ritual. Adding these two observations, it is easy to imagine that our ancestors millions of years ago have kiss-fed each other as part of their love-making rituals. Nursing a baby is emotionally involving for parent as well as for child. This positive emotion is transferred or ‘copied’ into the courtship rituals by kissing the love-partner. The etiological connection between baby-nursing and adult courtship behavior is also reflected it the fact that many people call their lover ‘baby’. Eibl-Eibesfeldt’s books have been translated into several languages. Look for the titles ‘Love and hate’ (London 1971), and ‘Human Ethology’ (NY 1989). Also see: [http://battalion.tamu.edu/archives/99a/2-11/fp4.html](http://battalion.tamu.edu/archives/99a/2-11/fp4.html) [http://www.newswise.com/articles/2000/2/KISSING.TXM.html](http://www.newswise.com/articles/2000/2/KISSING.TXM.html) [http://www.gallery127.org/kissing/](http://www.gallery127.org/kissing/) [http://www.wsu.edu:8001/vcwsu/commons/topics/culture/behaviors/kissing/kissing-essay.html](http://www.wsu.edu:8001/vcwsu/commons/topics/culture/behaviors/kissing/kissing-essay.html) ---
**Author:** ![muppetsoup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aca169/32.png) [@muppetsoup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muppetsoup)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2000, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/6 "2000-12-20T22:25:01Z")
There is a Badtz Maru on the [Somethingawful.com](http://Somethingawful.com) boards… There is a Badtz Maru on the boards at [theaskguys.com](http://theaskguys.com)… Surely you haven’t pursued me even here? ---
**Author:** ![SpinneZiege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@SpinneZiege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpinneZiege)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2000, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/7 "2000-12-21T01:45:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\* > The best kiss is the DeSade one. \*\* What the heck is that? Do you bite the tongue of your partner or something? (or would it involve piercings?) Speaking of which, my ‘sister’ recently got her tongue pierced when she was in New Zealand. Should be interesting for xmas… ---
**Author:** ![MarkyDeSade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@MarkyDeSade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarkyDeSade)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2000, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/8 "2000-12-21T03:29:48Z")
I never bite the tongue off, just nibble a bit… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2000, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/9 "2000-12-21T04:45:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by muppetsoup \* > \*\*There is a Badtz Maru on the [Somethingawful.com](http://Somethingawful.com) boards… > There is a Badtz Maru on the boards at [theaskguys.com](http://theaskguys.com)… > > Surely you haven’t pursued me even here? \*\* I’ve been here as long as you. 8^) ---
**Author:** ![peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peace)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2000, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/10 "2000-12-21T05:31:35Z")
## Once a man told me that autoerotic asphyxia has the same “origin” as kissing: interruption of oxygen/blood supply makes sensations more acute…True? Peace ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2000, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/11 "2000-12-21T16:13:20Z")
Another word for kiss, is osculate, which should show up in the search here. A pretty word that. ‘Osculating’ = kissing “What the heck is that? Do you bite the tongue of your partner or something? (or would it involve piercings?)” I was waiting for someone to take the bait. The ‘DeSade kiss’ is when the man vomits into the woman’s mouth & then the woman returns it by vomitting into the man’s mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Gregor\_Samsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@Gregor\_Samsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gregor_Samsa)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2000, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/12 "2000-12-21T17:49:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*…The ‘DeSade kiss’ is when the man vomits into the woman’s mouth & then the woman returns it by vomitting into the man’s mouth. \*\* Remind me never to date you, **handy**. ---
**Author:** ![SpinneZiege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@SpinneZiege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpinneZiege)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2000, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/13 "2000-12-22T04:31:56Z")
That definitely turns me off for the night. I don’t think I’ll be doing any five on one for a long while after hearing _that_ one. Geez, that’s even nastier than the snowball! ---
**Author:** ![MarkyDeSade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@MarkyDeSade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarkyDeSade)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2000, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/14 "2000-12-22T04:36:27Z")
I have never done that! I swear! Who’s been talking smack about me? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2000, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/15 "2000-12-22T16:05:04Z")
Pipeliner, I don’t kiss like that…I was just using it as an artistic idea, although it is a DeSade kiss. MarkyDeSade, you didn’t do that, you wrote about it. Why take such a great famous name & yet never read his books? ---
**Author:** ![SpinneZiege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@SpinneZiege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpinneZiege)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2000, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/16 "2000-12-22T17:55:04Z")
Speaking of which, has anyone seen that new Movie Quills? It’s apparently about de Sade and his writings. And, surprisingly, it isn’t in the adult section. ---
**Author:** ![soulsling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@soulsling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulsling)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2000, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/17 "2000-12-22T19:05:03Z")
Quills was wonderful, but not very factual. Mostly, it seemed about a the turmoil over his book Justine. Not nearly as deSade-ish as one would hope, but still, very good movie IMO. While your’e trying to discover the origin of kissing, I’ll be over here practicing the kiss on my Girlfriend. Hope your quest is as enjoyable as mine 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/18 "2000-12-23T00:36:30Z")
“I’ll be over here practicing the kiss on my Girlfriend” Try eating pizza beforehand. ---
**Author:** ![Gregor\_Samsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@Gregor\_Samsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gregor_Samsa)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/19 "2000-12-23T14:29:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*“I’ll be over here practicing the kiss on my > Girlfriend” > > Try eating pizza beforehand. \*\* I’d recommend a big plate of curry and a couple of bottles of red wine. ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kissing-where-and-when-did-it-originate/46308/20 "2000-12-24T23:44:53Z")
Re the DeSade kiss: go into [Consumtionjunction.com](http://Consumtionjunction.com) 's craxzy crap videos and look for “Japanese Creamed Corn”. Although I didn’t warn you, consider yourself warned. jb