Entertainment
The Gross Reason Humans Started Kissing Each Other
By Becca Lewis
| Published
If you’re into a good rom-com, you might not like to hear the reason that scientists believe people evolved the behavior of kissing. Often attributed to the idea of sharing a breath that came about around 4,500 years ago, kissing in humans has been a part of romantic expression for millennia, but the real roots of the kiss are a lot more disgusting than you might think. Early hominids likely groomed parasites off of each other, an act we can currently observe in our closest living ancestors, the apes.
Kissing Was A Way To Remove Parasites
A recent paper on the practice of kissing in humans published by Adriano R. Lameira, an Associate Professor and UK Research & Innovation Future Leaders Fellow at the Department of Psychology, University of Warwick in the UK, suggests that the behavior originated from a grooming activity primates participate in.
As people evolved to have less hair, the soothing behavior of grooming became less of a practical activity and more of a soothing behavior. The study for the paper was based on the current, observable behavior of primates, using a living source to evaluate the current behavior of people and their descendants.
Grommer’s Final Kiss
The grooming behavior has been termed “groomer’s final kiss” because lip sucking is usually the final part of a grooming ritual that apes take part in for the purpose of bonding as well as practical parasite removal. Once the hair on a fellow primate’s body has been thoroughly cleaned by its grooming partner, the last step is to make a final pass on the grooming subject’s lips. The study suggests that this groomer’s “final kiss” is at the root of human kissing.
Because there’s no visual or written record from early hominids to determine their behavior or reasons for kissing, there’s a big gap in the observable evidence for scientific theories on the subject. While we can see that there are similar behaviors in apes that appear similar to kissing in humans as well as motivated by social bonding, we can’t say for sure how that is related to modern human ideas about kissing.
While anthropologists can evaluate current behaviors and compare them to the behavior of living primate ancestors, there’s no way to evaluate physical evidence on the subject beyond what humans have recorded.
Other Theories
Previous theories about the origins of human kissing posit that people begin suckling while nursing and translate that sucking behavior to sucking a mother’s lips, and perhaps sucking the lips of others they are bonding with.
Less well-developed hypotheses include the idea that women’s mouths have been seen as a sexual proxy and that kissing comes from this sexualization of mouths, but this idea doesn’t show how this behavior developed over time or when it was introduced. It’s more likely that the behavior began as a grooming behavior and bonding ritual that transcended the practical cause for the impulse.
Regardless of how disgusting it is, the idea that we inherited the act of kissing from our primate ancestors does more fully explain why the behavior exists across continents and cultures, and why it is so inherent to our idea of romantic love.
Kissing as a continuation of a bonding ritual explains why the practice occurs between close family members in some cultures or between acquaintances in others. As the practice developed, the bonding rituals of humans evolved to fulfill the needs of the societies we built, making the practice similar but different for different social and cultural circumstances.
Source: Evolutionary Anthropology
Entertainment
LA public schools pass screen time limits for students in a first
Los Angeles public school students may be returning to the age of college-ruled notebooks and Scantrons, following a Tuesday school board vote that will limit the use of computers, laptops, and tablets in classrooms.
Titled “Using Technology with Intention,” the new resolution mandates the creation of grade-level and subject-specific screen time limits across Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) schools, including a complete ban on device usage for kindergarten and first grade. The use of one-to-one devices, like individual Chromebooks, will be discouraged for second through fifth grades, as well.
Revised guidelines will also address video-aided lesson plans, access to video streaming platforms like YouTube, and expanded restrictions on gaming and social media platforms.
District staff must present the revised tech use policy by June, which will go into effect for all LAUSD students beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. Guidelines will be reevaluated every year, and schools are tasked with tracking and sharing student screen time numbers with parents.
Mashable Light Speed
The resolution cites increasing concern about the effect of screen time on young minds and alleged screen addiction, including recent Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) studies that show a correlation between high screen time and adverse health effects. The board was unanimously in favor of the tech restrictions, with one recusal.
“We know that tech is not going away and can be a powerful tool in the classroom. This is not about going backwards. This is about rethinking school time and screen time in schools to ensure we are doing what actually helps students learn best,” board member Nick Melvoin said during Tuesday’s meeting.
“This is not about going backwards. This is about rethinking school time…”
Advocates, parents, and even students have spent the last year lobbying for greater tech restrictions following the passing of a 2025 bell-to-bell cellphone ban restricting the use of personal devices during school hours. Schools Beyond Screens, a national classroom tech safety coalition founded by LAUSD parents and teachers, helped craft the resolution in collaboration with board members and co-sponsors Melvoin, Karla Griego, Tanya Ortiz Franklin, Jerry Yang, Kelly Gonez, and Rocío Rivas.
“Now is the time for a safe and science-backed approach to classroom technology, one that is not guided by Big Tech talking points like screen value over screen time,” the organization wrote in a press release following the decision.
“There is much work to be done, and this is only the beginning, but today, we are proud, grateful, and – for the first time in a long time – hopeful. Our kids may yet have the kind of public education that they deserve — one that is proven effective and free of undue digital distraction, harmful content, and corporate exploitation.”
Topics
Social Good
Family & Parenting
Entertainment
The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is at the lowest price weve seen all year
SAVE $75: The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $224 at Amazon, down from the standard price of $299. That’s a 25% discount.
$224
at Amazon
$299
Save $75
Packing up for an adventure means figuring out how to bring along a soundtrack. A trip to the cabin or a lakeside campground all deserve to be experienced with a great playlist. If you could use an upgrade before summer to get a waterproof Bluetooth speaker, check out this deal at Amazon.
As of April 22, the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore Bluetooth speaker is on sale for $224 at Amazon, marked down from the normal price of $299. That’s a 25% discount that takes $75 off the price. It’s also the lowest price we’ve seen at Amazon so far this year.
A compact speaker with a scratch-resistant aluminum shell is exactly what we should be packing on adventures. With an attached carabiner, the B&O Explore speaker is designed to clip onto your backpack when you hit the trail. Or you can utilize the rubber base to set it on a rock or even in the sand. It’s both waterproof and dustproof, adding to the durability.
Bang & Olufsen notes this model gets up to 27 hours of playtime before it needs to recharge. It weighs under 1.5 pounds, so it won’t add much bulk to your gear. It takes about two hours to recharge the Beosound Explore.
Mashable Deals
Before summer kicks into high gear, add the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore speaker to your pack. It’s ready for any adventure you have planned.
Entertainment
Get some new wrist candy with the CMF Watch Pro 2 at its lowest price ever
SAVE $39.01: As of April 22, get the CMF By Nothing Watch 2 Pro for $39.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $79. That’s a discount of 49% and the lowest price we’ve seen.
$39.99
at Amazon
$79
Save $39.01
There are tons of smartwatches on the market if you’re in need of one. But if you’re willing to look beyond the Apple Watches or Samsung devices out there, you’ll find an awesome alternative from the Nothing brand that’ll save you some serious cash. Not only is it more affordable than the competition, but it’s got everything you could want and then some. In fact, one of the models is on sale right now.
As of April 22, get the CMF By Nothing Watch 2 Pro for $39.99 at Amazon, down from its usual price of $79. That’s $39.01 off and a discount of 49%. It’s also the lowest price we’ve seen.
This affordable smartwatch not only comes in an attractive form factor, but it has just about everything you could ask for. It has your average comms tools like Bluetooth calling and gesture control, a built-in mic and speaker, contacts, message reminders, and music control. But from there, it offers a wide range of sensors and data to help you take control of your health.
It offers a portable blood oxygen saturation monitor, a heart rate monitor, sleep tracking, and so much more. All of this data, including workout information, steps, and much more, can be synced across all your favorite fitness apps, including Apple Health and Google Health Connect. There are 120 sports modes to choose from, GPS positioning, and even a 3D warm-up exercise guide to help get you on your feet each day.
Mashable Deals
With interchangeable watch straps and an attractive face, this extremely reasonable smartwatch is definitely one to rival Apple and Samsung. You’ll want to grab yours while it’s still down to the lowest price we’ve seen.
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