Tornado Alley (PROG)

[12yearplan]

“My upper lip becomes moist, while my lower lip trembles! I shall embrace him, I shall kiss him.” —1900-1595 B.C.E. tablet from Sippar, Mesopotamia

These breathless lines of cuneiform script, etched into a clay tablet some 4,000 years ago, are among the very first depictions of romantic kissing. But hints from archaeology and DNA suggest that humans were kissing long before they had the ability to tell about it in writing; the amorous act might even be as old as our species. Unfortunately, as kissing caught on so did a side effect—the spread of disease. Now, scientists studying the evolution of persistent pathogens are delving into the history of the kiss and trying to uncover smooching’s longtime role in their transmission.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/humanity-s-first-recorded-kiss-was-earlier-than-we-thought?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

Why would people lock lips and swap spit? The kiss’ allure is a matter of ongoing psychological and physiological research. Some suggest kissing helps humans size up potential mates. When going in for a smooch, one might encounter bad breath, for example, which would typically be a turnoff. That breath might also warn some part of your brain of decay, diseases or other indicators of unfitness. And that saliva passed mouth to mouth contains hormones and other compounds that may give the brain clues to determine a kissing partner really is suitable as a match.

Kissing also builds pair bonding, and happier couples kiss more, some research shows , though experts can’t say exactly how it works. One reason may be that it simply feels good; while kissing, our sensitive lips and tongues trigger areas of the brain involved in increasing pleasure and decreasing stress.

Clear evidence exists that humans had sexual relations with Neanderthals...

Despite kissing’s long history, it is far from ubiquitous today. A 2015 study of 168 cultures around the globe found that romantic kissing was popular in only about half those groups. And where kissing is common, some people pay a price for the experience.

Diseases including herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), Epstein-Barr virus, human parvovirus and the common cold can be spread by saliva, so kissing can propagate them throughout a population. One study suggests that tens of millions or even 1 billion bacteria can be exchanged during deep kissing.

The World Health organization estimates that two-thirds of the world’s population under age 50, some 3.7 billion people, are infected with HSV-1.

“Those that didn’t adopt kissing likely found it disgusting in some way,” Arbøll says, “and they wouldn’t have then just embraced it just because some migrants came and said, ‘Hey, this kissing is a great idea.’”