Researchers at the University of Leeds report that kissing plays an important role in human reproduction. It's not just that kissing can eventually lead to the reproductive act; it's the germs that come with that comes with swapping spit. Perhaps most importantly, when a man kisses a female partner, he passes a small amount of his cytomegalovirus to her. If the cytomegalovirus is introduced into a woman's system during pregnancy, it can damage or even potentially kill the fetus. But, if a woman kisses the same partner repeatedly, she eventually develops an immunity to his particular cytomegalovirus, decreasing the chances of infection during pregnancy. The study authors say that six months of kissing should yield optimum immunity.

It's just as well, then, that the whole cootie shot thing was a sham.

[Daily Mail via Popular Science]

They even had a notary public on hand to certify that yes, KISS did indeed mix their blood into the ink at the printing press Marvel used.

Talk about putting yourself into your work. It also reminds us when Mark Gruenwald died suddenly in 1997, and they mixed his cremated ashes in with the first collected graphic novels of Squadron Supreme. No idea if Steve would have wanted his body contributed to anything, but it would be nice if Marvel could put out a commemorative edition of Howard the Duck for people who don't know anything but the movie.