Kissing, a prelude to sex

What's in a kiss

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous". Ingrid Bergman

What are the origins of Kissing? Why do we kiss someone to show them we are interested or in fact ready to have sex with them. Of course it was the French who are reputed to have been the first to use kissing as a signal to those you love or wish to love.

Reputedly, it was figure dancing that was fashionable and on finishing the dance it was traditional to kiss your partner. As this became more common place the kiss, a pleasant experience for all was varied a simple peck on the cheek for an acquaintance and a passionate embrace for someone you wished to start dating.

As time has passed, the kiss has been well recorded with many artists particularly notable is "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt similarly it is used extensively with extensive graphic detail by many authors, further sculptors such as Rodin produced the famed erotic statue 'The Kiss'.

Kissing is even in the Guinness book of records Bobbi Sherlock and Ray Blazine managed 130 hours and 2 minutes during a marathon kissathon on 1978. On screen the longest recorded kiss so far was between Jane Wyman and Regis Tommy in the movie You're in the Army Now.

A kiss can have other meanings too, it has been a customary greeting and sign of reverence for time immemorial. The Russian Tsar would kiss to show respect. In roman times one emperor gave different meanings to his kisses depending on where they were given, his "kiss spots". This ranged from the lips for nobles through the hand for those seen as less important to his feet for the lowest of the low. Judging purely by social rank.

Everyone knows the kiss of life taught by many an institution in the guise of first aid, whereas gangsters administer the kiss of death. People are not alone in receiving kisses many owners kiss their animals, while the popes ring and the blarney stone in Ireland have received their fair share of kisses.

A kiss or two on the cheek has long been the general greeting between Arabs and Mediterranean men while this has only spread recently across more of Europe even to England where they are often unsure whether they should do it to other men or how many kisses are acceptable. The French on the other hand are well known for the kiss on both cheeks and in Holland there is a third added as well.

Romancing a new love is likely to require a kiss or snogging session, many find this comes as second nature while others are not natural kissers. There are whole web sites devoted to the art of kissing with a plethora of advice available on the subject; fresh breath, moistened parted lips and the eyes shut are seemingly essential ingredients in producing a successful kiss.

Many women swoon in the presence of a good kisser, ladies who find a man who can kiss take note and hold on to him. You might never find another who treats you so well. Men should learn how to kiss well, fist impressions last and if you can kiss well your chances of reaching the naughty bedroom are so much higher.