Snogging is good for you

So I walk in and the phone is ringing. It’s BBC Somerset . Could I talk to Emma Britton about snogging? Eh what?
‘It’s National Kissing Day and apparently one in five married people go without kissing their partners in a week.’
Not entirely sure why they consider me a suitable expert on this (particularly since I haven't even seen my husband this week so far!)but hey, Emma is always a great laugh so why not?
And, actually, as she started asking me about kissing, I started remembering all these weird little facts about how good it is for you. For example, did you know:
· kissing helps prevent tooth decay by increasing saliva? Mind you, so does chewing gum.
· kissing helps build up your immunity by swapping germs with someone else? Mind you, you can achieve the same effect by not washing your hands after using a public lavatory.
· kissing helps reduce allergies by – umm, something to do with raising Ig levels…can’t quite remember. Beauty of this kind of radio is that it’s all done and dusted in three minutes and nobody ever picks you up on the detail.

· kissing exercises your facial muscles? Then again, so does gurning.
· kissing burns calories? Not sure how I know this fact but apparently a 20 minute snogging session (chaste pecks don’t do it) burns 40 kcals. Okay, so that’s not a huge amount but if you factor in that while you’re kissing you’re not eating, it might be worth considering.

Above all, of course, kissing is about connecting, bonding, about trust - about letting someone into your personal space. It’s part of the touch factor and, as humans, we need touch just as much as we need food and drink. Without it, we suffer sensory starvation. Pretty well all animals kiss in one way or other...even insects rub bits of exo-skeleton.  Though - and did you know this - apparently humans are the only creatures that get aroused through nipple manipulation?

Anyhow. I sort of surprised myself with this sudden burst of knowledge and, despite for some totally inexplicable reason talking in a cod Midlands accent, figured I was doing quite well. So I looked out the window and wondered what kind of bird was perched on the vicar’s roof while letting my voice go on auto-pilot. Now it’s always a mistake to let your guard down when talking on media and, to my horror, I “came to” to hear myself wittering on about kissing the Soul Puppy more than my husband because he had a softer head. Oh ye gods.

Fortunately it ended soon after that. The producer was probably frantically making the quick hand across the throat ‘cut it’gesture.

But, as I walked the SP in Burridge Woods afterwards, it got me thinking. When I told Emma the 40 kcals in 20 minutes nugget, she said, ‘I don’t think I’ve had a twenty minute snog since I was fourteen.’
And, you know what, I don’t think I have either. Well, hmm, actually, I was about seventeen and I was going out with this boy who was just THE best kisser ever. We would just snog and snog and snog until my lips actually got sore and I would dissolve off his couch like a pat of molten butter. But then, see, we weren’t having sex.
Do any of you kiss for absolutely ages? Just kiss? If you do, I’m severely envious.

By the way. I just checked and, you know, National Kissing Day was back in July. Huh?

Ah whatever....I was going to share some of my favourite kissing songs to get you in the mood...but YouTube is being petulant...  try the links instead...

http://youtu.be/3YcNzHOBmk8 (is cute)
http://youtu.be/gl6jq38K3-M (is classic)
http://youtu.be/t5Sd5c4o9UM (is out of this world...so to speak)