Ever since we locked lips for the first time behind the pyramid on our grade school playground, we've been unapologetically hooked. We're never met anyone who didn't think kissing was great. And now Scientific American has finally gotten around to explaining why you let that assistant manager take your temperature with his tongue in the Applebees' bathroom.
Turns out kissing may have had more to do with snacking than romance. According to the article:
In the 1960s British zoologist and author Desmond Morris first proposed that kissing might have evolved from the practice in which primate mothers chewed food for their young and then fed them mouth-to-mouth, lips puckered. Chimpanzees feed in this manner, so our hominid ancestors probably did, too. Pressing outturned lips against lips may have then later developed as a way to comfort hungry children when food was scarce and, in time, to express love and affection in general.
This confirms what we've known all along. Lady and the Tramp: Hot!