Once upon a time, the ‘World’s Longest Kiss’ record was up for grabs, ready to be bestowed upon whichever two people could successfully keep their lips locked the longest.
In 2013, those two people were Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat; a Thai couple who had entered a competition for the world’s longest kiss held by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Pattaya, Thailand.
Ah, romance (PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP via Getty Images)
The rules of the record
As per Guinness World Records, were as follows:
- The kiss must be continuous and the lips must be touching at all times. If the lips part, the couple are immediately disqualified.
- Contestants may consume liquids via a straw during the attempt, but again, the lips must not part.
- The couple must be awake at all times.
- The contestants must stand during the attempt and cannot be propped together by any aids.
- No rest breaks are allowed.
- Adult nappies/diapers or incontinence pads are not allowed to be worn.
Couples attempting to break the record were allowed to take trips to the toilet, but they had to remain kissing the whole time while also being monitored by a referee.
It’s probably not the kind of scenario many couples would be prepared to encounter during their relationship, but these contestants were obviously OK with it.
Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat are the last record holders (PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP via Getty Images)
The event kicked off on February 12, 2013, with nine couples – including one couple in their 70s, who dropped out after an hour and 38 minutes because the husband couldn’t stand up any longer.
But Ekkachai and Laksana stayed strong, and 58 hours and 35 minutes later, they officially held the record for the world’s longest kiss. The couple won the grand prize of 100,000 Thai Baht ($2,967), as well as two diamond rings also worth 100,000 Baht.
It’s an incredible feat – especially with the logistics of going to the bathroom – but after Ekkachai and Laksana set the record Guinness realized that it was too risky to continue.
Kissing comes with some health risks (Getty Stock Image)
Why? Well, as determined contestants fought to continue their kiss, they became subject to dangers associated with sleep deprivation, such as psychosis.
One example of this occurred in 1999, when record holders Karmit Tzubera and Dror Orpaz almost fainted after securing the record with a kiss which lasted 30 hours and 45 minutes and had to be rushed to the hospital to be treated for fatigue.
In 2004, another contestant suffered muscle cramps during the attempt and needed his partner to massage him to help him deal with the pain. After 31 hours and 18 minutes of kissing, he then had to be resuscitated with oxygen.
So Guinness scrapped the record for the sake of people’s health – but if you still fancy trying to secure a title for tonsil tennis, there is the ‘longest kissing marathon’ record, which does permit rest breaks.
