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Science of smooching
Cosmos Magazine ^ | June 2007, issue 15 | Erica Harrison

Posted on 11/06/2007 8:16:21 AM PST by SunkenCiv

Mystery still surrounds the motive for that very first kiss. As anthropologist Helen Fisher, of Rutgers University in New Jersey, notes, many species engage in behaviour that looks suspiciously similar. Snails use their antennae to caress, birds nibble beak-to-beak, and many mammals lick or gently gnaw each other. So maybe kissing is just an animal impulse? ...while chimp kisses don't get more lascivious than a quick peck, bonobous revel in sloppy, tonguey tonsil-hockey. Some trace the evolutionary origins of the kiss to mouth-to-mouth feeding of offspring, a behaviour observed in many species of birds and mammals. This could have led to kissing as a sign of affection between mother and child; a gesture that spread to other relationships. But some anthropologists point out that the people who still feed their young in this way -- the Papuans of New Guinea and the San of southwest Africa -- were strangers to kissing before Europeans arrived. For Freud, kissing was a subconscious return to infancy and suckling at the mother's breast, and many researchers since have noted the parallels.

(Excerpt) Read more at cosmosmagazine.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: godsgravesglyphs
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To: CholeraJoe; Jersey Republican Biker Chick; Judith Anne; JamesP81; MotleyGirl70; martin_fierro

:’)


21 posted on 11/06/2007 9:28:19 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Profile updated Monday, October 22, 2007. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick; BlackHood55

Borrow it? I need to OWN it.


22 posted on 11/06/2007 9:28:26 AM PST by Shimmer (30 degrees to 300 degrees in seconds.)
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To: ValerieTexas

Experiments probably begin something like this: “Is that a test tube in your pocket, or...”


23 posted on 11/06/2007 9:29:11 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Profile updated Monday, October 22, 2007. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Shimmer; MeekOneGOP; Conspiracy Guy; DocRock; King Prout; Darksheare; OSHA; martin_fierro; ...
“many mammals lick or gently gnaw each other”
My mind is working overtime

Example: Get a room, you two!


24 posted on 11/06/2007 9:30:40 AM PST by Slings and Arrows ("Be deranged in a consistent manner. Manson was nuts, but at least he was always on message." --dead)
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To: JRios1968

Thank you for helping me stick to a diet.


25 posted on 11/06/2007 9:31:53 AM PST by relictele
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To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick; BlackHood55

Don’t Interrupt Me I’m Having A Sexual Fantasy

I like that for a tagline!


26 posted on 11/06/2007 9:31:54 AM PST by Shimmer (30 degrees to 300 degrees in seconds.)
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To: Shimmer

Ha ha ha.....


27 posted on 11/06/2007 9:35:32 AM PST by Jersey Republican Biker Chick (RIP Eric Medlen. You will be missed.../ Get well Soon John Force!!!)
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To: Shimmer

It does have a nice ring to it...


28 posted on 11/06/2007 9:36:01 AM PST by Jersey Republican Biker Chick (RIP Eric Medlen. You will be missed.../ Get well Soon John Force!!!)
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To: Slings and Arrows
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket Blackhood55
29 posted on 11/06/2007 9:46:50 AM PST by Shimmer (30 degrees to 300 degrees in seconds.)
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To: SunkenCiv
In the lab, Susan couldn't help staring at Bob's enormous pens.


30 posted on 11/06/2007 9:47:06 AM PST by Daffynition (The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.)
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To: martin_fierro
She was in traction for months.

I guess he lost traction?

31 posted on 11/06/2007 9:48:16 AM PST by JRios1968 (Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will. - Ben Stein)
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To: Slings and Arrows
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
32 posted on 11/06/2007 9:48:39 AM PST by Shimmer (30 degrees to 300 degrees in seconds.)
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To: SunkenCiv

You must remember this: a kiss is still a kiss.


33 posted on 11/06/2007 9:50:05 AM PST by SoothingDave
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To: Slings and Arrows

34 posted on 11/06/2007 9:54:38 AM PST by Daffynition (The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.)
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To: Daffynition

Well, it was a ball point.


35 posted on 11/06/2007 9:57:21 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Profile updated Monday, October 22, 2007. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: SoothingDave

Play it, Sam.


36 posted on 11/06/2007 9:57:47 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Profile updated Monday, October 22, 2007. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick

Well, OK, but you’re so far away.......


37 posted on 11/06/2007 10:45:44 AM PST by day10 (Rules cannot substitute for character.)
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To: day10
LOL!!

SMOOCH!!

38 posted on 11/06/2007 10:49:00 AM PST by Jersey Republican Biker Chick (RIP Eric Medlen. You will be missed.../ Get well Soon John Force!!!)
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To: Shimmer

And it should be but only at triple time.


39 posted on 11/06/2007 11:26:56 AM PST by BlackHood55 (The Power of Love)
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To: SunkenCiv

A red x in a box deserves a smooch for sure!


40 posted on 11/06/2007 11:49:42 AM PST by Monkey Face (It might look like I'm doing nothing, but at the cellular level, I'm really quite busy.)
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