Ravishly: Kissing is Gross

We're Never Doing It Again

By Giana Ciaponni of Ravishly
QuailBellMagazine.com

Get AWAY from him, you sicko! Credit: Thinkstock

As the mopey song goes: "What do you get when you kiss a girl?" 

Yeah, what? 

"You get enough germs to catch pneumonia!" 

While we can't vouch for the scientific accuracy of the pneumonia accusation, there is an undeniable element of truth to this lyric. Indeed, new research conducted by Micropia and TNO in the Netherlands reveals that there is a significant amount of bacteria-swapping that occurs during moments of intimacy.

Researchers tested 21 couples, ranging in age from 17 to 45, and asked them a series of questions regarding their smooching habits. Scientists gave one half of each couple a probiotic drink before asking them to embark on a full-on makeout sesh (or, as they put it, "intimate kiss"). In doing so, they were able to track the passing of new bacteria.

And that's when things got . . . gross.

Using this method, researchers calculated that kissing someone for 10 seconds transfers 80 million bacteria. To put that in perspective, if these germs were dollars, they would be equal to Jon Stewart's net worth. Couples (in general) share much of their tongue microbiota—probably from swapping so much spit. 


Perhaps this is the bias of a woman who recently snogged an ill man (you'd think him sneezing all over the table would deter me, but no), but isn't this horrifying? How am I still alive?

To be fair, though we hear "bacteria" and assume the worst, there are good kinds as well. As the video below speculates, such exchanges could have been beneficial from an evolutionary standpoint. 

Watch this visual representation of all those kiss germs and see how eager you are to smooch again. Imagine me cuddled up on the couch blowing my nose with paper towels (because I ran out of tissues already) if that doesn't do it for you.

Don't kiss, kids—it's dangerous!

[Click here to watch the whole thing go down.]

#Unreal #Ravishly #GianaCiaponni #Real #TaintedLove #FlavorOfLove #Dirty #SalivaSwap #TongueTango 

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