7 unusual facts about kissing you didn't know

Kisses that make your foot pop to the ones that leave you breathless and flushed in bed—it's really difficult to understand how anyone would dread kissing! Yes, the fear of kissing or philemaphobia is real. However,
for fans of lip-locking, this list presents some eye-popping facts.

1. We start young: As young as in the womb. Scientists believe that the instinct to lean right while kissing originates due to the natural tilt of the head to the right in the womb. Didn't we say kissing is quite a natural phenomenon?

2. Kissing = happy teeth: Want to avoid the dentist? Kiss more often! The saliva flow during kissing helps clean your teeth cavities and protects tooth enamel. Or so a study in Applied and Environmental Biology says. We pick kissing over going to the dentist any day!

3. Facial workout: Around 146 muscles sweat themselves out gleefully every single time you kiss! A team of British researchers from the Rayne Institute in University College, London, arrived at this magical number (112 postural muscles, 34 facial muscles) after studying kissing couples.

4. Kissing isn't universal: This fact came as quite a shocker for us too! The inhabitants of Mangaia Island in the Pacific Ocean have never engaged in a lip-lock, while people in Sudan believe kissing will cause them to lose their soul. Not unless you kiss a dementor you won't!
PS: Dementor = a soul-sucking-via-kiss dark creature made famous by the Harry Potter series.

5. Memory to take to the grave: We all remember our first kiss. It may not have been the greatest, but you will remember it distinctly. According to a study conducted by John Bohannon of Butler University, 500 people remembered their first kiss in greater detail as compared to other important life experiences, including the first time they lost their virginity.

6. The magic number: A British study determined that it takes 15 kisses for women and 16 for men to find their true love. Oh well, now we know why our dating history is the way it is.

7. Happy high: You don't need any substance to get high if you kiss. Every time you kiss, you produce a substance 200 times more potent than morphine. Mind is blown!

-FEMINA