Just a Bite 6/15/10

Quote to ponder under the apple tree

A kiss that speaks volumes is seldom a first edition.
~Clare Whiting


Resources to bite into

1. Kissing is good for your health

In honor of the month that was long been the most popular for weddings, the current issue of Brain Aerobics Weekly features a discussion of kissing based on an old New York Times article by Joshua Foer (Feb. 14, 2006, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/14/opinion/14foer.html) and the website http://people.howstuffworks.com/kissing2.htm. When you are kissed by someone you care about, the following hormones and neurotransmitters rush through your body:
• Oxytocin, which helps people develop feelings of attachment, devotion and affection for one another
• Dopamine, which plays a role in the brain's processing of pleasure and pain
• Serotonin, which affects a person's mood and feelings
• Adrenaline, which increases heart rate and dilates your blood vessels to provide your body with more oxygen

Plus, according to Mr. Foer, “A study conducted during the 1980's found that men who kiss their wives before leaving for work live longer, get into fewer car accidents, and have a higher income than married men who don't.” We assume the same is true for anyone who kisses anyone with affection, so get out there and pucker up!

2. Kissing quotes


Here are a few kissing quotes. Which do you agree with?

Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves. ~Albert Einstein

Kissing is a means of getting two people so close together that they can't see anything wrong with each other. ~Rene Yasenek

In trying to get our own way, we should remember that kisses are sweeter than whine. ~Author Unknown

People who throw kisses are mighty hopelessly lazy. ~Bob Hope


3. Wedding trivia

The trivia quiz in the current Brain Aerobics Weekly highlights the origins of marriage traditions. Here are two you may not have known:
• “Wedding toast” got its name from the custom of placing a square of bread in the bottom of two drinking glasses for the newlyweds. The bride and groom drank as fast as they could, and whoever was first to get to the toast would rule the household.
• Until about 1500 years ago, the ring finger was the index finger. Later the third finger became associated with “vein of love that led directly to the heart.” (Check out the lines on your own palm!)

Tips/ideas/insights to savor

The current Brain Aerobics Weekly also features an exercise in writing your own goodwill. June probably first became a popular month to marry because it was associated with the Roman goddess Juno, who was seen as the protector of married life. May, on the other hand was associated with bad luck: “Marry in May, and you’ll rue the day.” Such rhymes and aphorisms are all well and good when they favor your choice, but why put a silly curse on life events? Here’s a challenge:

Take the beginning of each line below and finish it with a fortunate ending:

Marry when the year is new . . .
When February birds do mate . . .
If you wed when March winds blow . . .
Marry in April when you can . . .
Marry in the month of May . . .
Marry when June roses grow . . .
Those who in July do wed . . .
Whoever wed in August be . . .
Marry in September's shine . . .
If in October you do marry . . .
If you wed in bleak November . . .
When December snows fall fast . . .

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