5. A King Once Decreed That Kissing Be Outlawed.
On July 16, 1439, King Henry VI banned kissing in England. (I know, seriously, what a buzzkill.) His reasoning? It was to curtail the spread of disease in the kingdom. Duly note that his mental breakdown around 1453 required his wife, Margaret of Anjou, to assume control of his kingdom. (So that’s the level of crazy we were dealing with at this time.)
This went on to spur a lot of other weird smooching bans all over the world. Later in 16th century Naples, not only was kissing in public banned but it was punishable by death, as well.
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