Whatever you call it, "puckering up", "smooching", "snogging", "lip-locking" or simply "kissing", it is one of our favorite parts about falling in love and we are all a sucker for those romantic movies. But there are some crazy facts out there, all involving kissing and what better day than International Kissing Day to tell you all about them!
1. Kissing Takes Some Serious Muscle Power
Researchers from the Rayne Institute at University College, London studied kissing couples under an MRI scanner and found that a kiss mostly involves the orbicularis oris (the muscle around your mouth). That said, one kiss requires the coordination of 146 muscles total, including 34 facial muscles and 112 postural muscles. What a workout for your face!
2. There's Such a Thing as a Kissing Career
Just in case you were so into kissing you wanted to make a career out of it, the study of kissing is called philematology. Someone who studies kissing is called an osculologist. New career path sorted?
3. The Longest Kiss on Record Lasted More Than 58 Hours
According to the Guinness World Records, the record for the longest-lasting kiss goes to Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat of Thailand. These champion smoochers locked lips for 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds. (No word on whether they got bathroom breaks, but we're thinking that would have been a mood-killer.)
4. The Average Person Spends Two Weeks of His/Her Life Kissing
Experts estimate that the average person will spend 20,160 minutes of his or her lifetime kissing. In other words, that's your senior spring break in college. So what happens in Cabo becomes a statistic.
5. Kissing burns calories!
Making out with your partner is just what the doctor prescribed. Kissing burns calories (about two to three per minute), strengthens your immune system, relieves aches and pains and prevents cavities! Well then, more kissing is what we need!