On April the 13th, the world celebrates International Kiss Day. This date commemorates the longest recorded kiss in history, lasting up to 58 hours and done by a Thai couple during a contest. Curiously, public displays of affection are not well seen in Thailand, including kisses, or cūb
in Thai.
In several Asian countries, kisses are a private token of affection and only done
between people who know each other very well, which is why a greeting kiss is not
customary.
China, the Place of Kissing Robots
In China, it was illegal to kiss in public up until the 1980s, but it keeps being slightly
frowned upon nowadays. Paradoxically, it was in China where an electronic device created
for long-distance kissing (or wěn, in Chinese) with a robotic mouth was created, which syncs
with the aid of various sensors to change temperature and replicate the movements of the
other person.
The Long Lost Touch, also known as Muá, costs around 38USD and works
with a mobile app that connects you to whoever wants to smooch, but is unable to due to
long distances.
Kisses on the Cheek
Meanwhile, in Latin America it is very common to greet people with a kiss on the cheek, and
in Europe it is customary to give up to four kisses on the cheek. In Italy, the bacio is given
first on the left cheek and then on the right, while in Spain (beso in Spanish) and Greece
(φιλί or filí) it is done the other way around: first on the right and then on the left.
In Portugal, the greeting is done with only one beijo, whereas on Brazil you can say hello
with one to three, according to the region: in São Paulo, only one is given; in Río, two, and if
you visit Rio Grande do Sul, you can give or receive three.
In Holland, three kusjes (the plural of kus in Dutch) can be given for greeting, starting on the left cheek, while in some French regions like Nantes or Paris, it is common to give or receive four bisous.
Happy 100th Birthday, French Kiss
The “tongue kiss”, also known as the “French kiss”, was named as such on 1923, according
to the book The Science of Kissing by Sheril Kirshenbaum. It was in that year that the term
French kiss gained popularity as a display of affection, since French women felt more freely
about kissing, which surprised American soldiers and tourists traveling in France.
In France it is known as baiser amoureux or “lover’s kiss”, and it is believed to have
originated during World War I, among soldiers arriving in Europe, according to Duolingo (you can find other curiosities about languages and cultures in their blog.)
However, it wasn’t until 1923 that the name gained traction with English speakers, followed by other languages; it is known in Italy as “bacio alla francese” or “bacio alla fiorentina”, that is “French kiss” or “Florentine kiss”, respectively.
In 2013, the French verb galocher was popularized among francophiles, which resulted in
being included in dictionaries by 2014 and would be the equivalent to “making out”, since it
refers specifically to French kisses.
