The Panel: Gun Street Girl, Krazy Kristina, Bryce, Rudy Gilman, Dr. Goldstein and Greg.
The Debate: Should illness stop you from making out? Bryce said that he was willing to take some chances with microbes while Rudy said that he avoids girls who may have germs. Bryce was careful to say that he would avoid mono or a strong flu, but colds were no disincentive. He also didnt want snot flowing out of their noses and defined "too sick to make out" as "too sick for work". According to Bryce, any girl who is well enough to show up to work is well enough to make out.
Rudy said that his limited number of sick days at work made them too valuable to lose to illness caused by making out. He'd prefer to spend them on actual vacations. I argued that the whole point of working is to enjoy life, so why not enjoy life in the short period of time we have here, consequences be damned? Rudy responded by saying that he can still enjoy life, making out on vacation, and that enjoyment would be greater than being sick and/or a makeout with a sick girl. I asked whether this means philosophically Rudy would prefer 2 ho-hum days to 1 day of pleasure and 1 of pain. Rudy responded by saying the dichotomy was flawed: that he could have 1 day of pleasure on the beach with a non-sick girl and skip the day of pain.
I question whether or not passing up a sick girl guarantees a well one down the line. While I agree that when you're sick you're less likely to attract someone, I'd take the sick girl because there are too few opportunities in life and thus we should grab as many as possible before the well of youth dries up. Bryce goes even further and says if he really likes a girl, he'd take 1 day of pleasure for two of pain. He points out that, in the moment, it's difficult to stop yourself for a reason like illness. Emotion dominates reason and, if flirtation is already in motion, it's less about the easy act of not kissing someone than it is about the harder action of hitting the brakes.
I then asked if you yourself were sick, would that stop you from kissing other people. Bryce said he would warn girls but once they accept the risk he'd have at it. Liz would do the same. I said no one takes these warnings seriously. Bryce himself said that he responds to a warning of germs with "I have a rock hard immune system."
Dr. Goldstein said that early on in a coupling, people will gladly ignore germs to kiss due the novelty and excitement. Later on in a relationship, illness is a frequent excuse from intimacy, used when you just plain don't want to make out with somebody. I argued that, while one can use illness earlier on, later on a boyfriend has an obligation to kiss despite germs. Early makeouts are just about pleasure, so the maximization of pleasure may reasonably be found to come from abstinence over illness. Later makeouts, in the context of a relationship, are about feelings and thus it may be insulting to someone's feelings not to kiss them.
Krazy Kristina points out that, as an opera singer, she places an even higher premium on not getting sick and thus would value the opportunity even higher to avoid germs. Rudy tried to say that his attorney job had the same premium on wellness, but I disagreed. All jobs are done better by well people than sick people, but certain ones like singer or doctor really require wellness. Dr. Goldstein agreed, though noting that if she makes more people sick that ultimately does mean more business for her.
Bryce points out that he feels bad after getting sick from "floozies", girls he is not particularly attracted to. But after kissing infected women he fancies, he feels on balance happy with himself despite the exposure.
I then noted that, similar to giving hickeys, I enjoy "marking my territory" by giving girl whatever cold I may have. Hearing them describe my symptoms to me now that they are their symptoms too makes me feel like we've really connected and I've left a temporary mark. GSG wonders whether it's clear whether a girl's illness could be traced directly to you. I noted that identical symptoms coupled with the specific timing of their contraction of the illness could be a hint. No other panelists did this on purpose. In all fairness, neither do I, but I do take a small bit of pleasure when it does happen.
Rudy asks if people are even attracted to others when they are coughing and have mucous coming out of them. Is there any difference make-out-wise between sick people and people just going through allergic reactions? I was reminded of an episode of Married... With Children where Bud Bundy's only chance to sleep with a beautiful woman was while she had the measles and thus was unattractive to other men. Watch here or here.
Bryce finds mucous a deal-breaker. I find it to be adorable for its awkwardness and unpretentiousness, kind of like what girls see in Michael Cera. Dr. Goldstein and Krazy Kristina point out that sick people have "sick breath" which is itself undesirable. I've never noticed that phenomenon.
Bryce asks if people have tasted someone else's mucous and found it sweet. No one in the panel but me admitted to tasting mucous, though Dr. Goldstein says we likely all have. I found mucous to taste salty.
The Review: The panel reviewed contagious illnesses that can be transmitted through kissing and discussed to what degree we wanted to avoid them.
The Debate: Should illness stop you from making out? Bryce said that he was willing to take some chances with microbes while Rudy said that he avoids girls who may have germs. Bryce was careful to say that he would avoid mono or a strong flu, but colds were no disincentive. He also didnt want snot flowing out of their noses and defined "too sick to make out" as "too sick for work". According to Bryce, any girl who is well enough to show up to work is well enough to make out.
Rudy said that his limited number of sick days at work made them too valuable to lose to illness caused by making out. He'd prefer to spend them on actual vacations. I argued that the whole point of working is to enjoy life, so why not enjoy life in the short period of time we have here, consequences be damned? Rudy responded by saying that he can still enjoy life, making out on vacation, and that enjoyment would be greater than being sick and/or a makeout with a sick girl. I asked whether this means philosophically Rudy would prefer 2 ho-hum days to 1 day of pleasure and 1 of pain. Rudy responded by saying the dichotomy was flawed: that he could have 1 day of pleasure on the beach with a non-sick girl and skip the day of pain.
I question whether or not passing up a sick girl guarantees a well one down the line. While I agree that when you're sick you're less likely to attract someone, I'd take the sick girl because there are too few opportunities in life and thus we should grab as many as possible before the well of youth dries up. Bryce goes even further and says if he really likes a girl, he'd take 1 day of pleasure for two of pain. He points out that, in the moment, it's difficult to stop yourself for a reason like illness. Emotion dominates reason and, if flirtation is already in motion, it's less about the easy act of not kissing someone than it is about the harder action of hitting the brakes.
I then asked if you yourself were sick, would that stop you from kissing other people. Bryce said he would warn girls but once they accept the risk he'd have at it. Liz would do the same. I said no one takes these warnings seriously. Bryce himself said that he responds to a warning of germs with "I have a rock hard immune system."
Dr. Goldstein said that early on in a coupling, people will gladly ignore germs to kiss due the novelty and excitement. Later on in a relationship, illness is a frequent excuse from intimacy, used when you just plain don't want to make out with somebody. I argued that, while one can use illness earlier on, later on a boyfriend has an obligation to kiss despite germs. Early makeouts are just about pleasure, so the maximization of pleasure may reasonably be found to come from abstinence over illness. Later makeouts, in the context of a relationship, are about feelings and thus it may be insulting to someone's feelings not to kiss them.
Krazy Kristina points out that, as an opera singer, she places an even higher premium on not getting sick and thus would value the opportunity even higher to avoid germs. Rudy tried to say that his attorney job had the same premium on wellness, but I disagreed. All jobs are done better by well people than sick people, but certain ones like singer or doctor really require wellness. Dr. Goldstein agreed, though noting that if she makes more people sick that ultimately does mean more business for her.
Bryce points out that he feels bad after getting sick from "floozies", girls he is not particularly attracted to. But after kissing infected women he fancies, he feels on balance happy with himself despite the exposure.
I then noted that, similar to giving hickeys, I enjoy "marking my territory" by giving girl whatever cold I may have. Hearing them describe my symptoms to me now that they are their symptoms too makes me feel like we've really connected and I've left a temporary mark. GSG wonders whether it's clear whether a girl's illness could be traced directly to you. I noted that identical symptoms coupled with the specific timing of their contraction of the illness could be a hint. No other panelists did this on purpose. In all fairness, neither do I, but I do take a small bit of pleasure when it does happen.
Rudy asks if people are even attracted to others when they are coughing and have mucous coming out of them. Is there any difference make-out-wise between sick people and people just going through allergic reactions? I was reminded of an episode of Married... With Children where Bud Bundy's only chance to sleep with a beautiful woman was while she had the measles and thus was unattractive to other men. Watch here or here.
Bryce finds mucous a deal-breaker. I find it to be adorable for its awkwardness and unpretentiousness, kind of like what girls see in Michael Cera. Dr. Goldstein and Krazy Kristina point out that sick people have "sick breath" which is itself undesirable. I've never noticed that phenomenon.
Bryce asks if people have tasted someone else's mucous and found it sweet. No one in the panel but me admitted to tasting mucous, though Dr. Goldstein says we likely all have. I found mucous to taste salty.
The Review: The panel reviewed contagious illnesses that can be transmitted through kissing and discussed to what degree we wanted to avoid them.
- Thrush - If one performs cunnilingus on a woman with a yeast infection, they could develop an oral yeast infection which itself can be orally transmitted. Krazy Kristina advises strongly against catching this, though notes that it is treatable with pills. You get white stuff all over your mouth and it looks like the skin around your mouth breaks out. The ladies on the show point out that, though the symptoms are gross, the worst part is the knowledge that your kissing partner has recently gone down on somebody with a yeast infection. I point out that if the yeast infection belonged to you and your partner went down on you, thus contracting it, it would be hypocritical of you not to kiss them despite the thrush. GSG wonders why yeast infection people would choose to receive oral sex. KK reminds her that sometimes a girl doesn't know.
- Mono - No one on the panel would make out with a super hot person who had mono besides people who have biological immunity from mono. Those people noted, however, that the symptoms of mono like lack of energy or night sweats may dissuade them from making out with such people. Dr. Goldstein said that more than one strain exists so it's hard to be that secure in your biological immunity. I asked if a panelist had mono, would they be okay with kissing someone who doesn't have it and risk transmitting it so long as they were warned. Bryce said he'd be okay with that. I briefly discussed that there may be torts liability involved if you negligently transmitted a sexual disease. GSG shared the story of Ron Mexico.
- The Flu - Bryce said he would kiss a flu victim if he himself had just gotten over the flu, thus leaving him immune. Dr. Goldstein said she would if there was a shortage of flu vaccine, thereby using the kissing partner as a makeshift flu vaccine. I'm not a doctor, but that sounds like an awful idea. Bryce was quicker to point out that this doesn't sound like it would work (conversely, I think I'd only want to kiss a flu victim if and only if I did have the vaccine). I also pointed out that it requires a lot more forethought than I ever put into my kisses. Rudy pointed out that he has adult onset asthma and thus is particularly wary about contracting the flu.
- Cold Sores / Herpes - No one on the panel said they would risk contracting herpes. Rudy said he might if they weren't showing and he didn't know about it, which makes me wonder how he'd consent to do it. I point out that it's not always easy to tell who has it since the sores look like pimples and it's impolite to ask a girl you may kiss if she has herpes.
- How many people do you have to make out with before, statistically, you've probably contracted herpes or something? - I had heard that if you have sex with a certain (fairly low) number of people, statistically you probably have contracted HPV. I wondered if the same was true with making out. Dr. Goldstein said that during flu season, the number of partners is fairly small before you've likely caught the flu. As for herpes simplex virus 1, since 75% of people have it, the number of partners you need to kiss before contracting it is also fairly small. No specific numbers though.
- How do you know if someone has herpes? - It looks like an ulcer on the lip though it can be anywhere on the mouth. It usually looks scabby. They look very much like a pimple.
- How clean is a human mouth? - Much dirtier than other parts of the body. This is why when a person bites another person they are at significant risk of disease.
- Germ-wise, what is cleaner, sloppy thirds or first base? - First base is much cleaner germ-wise than sloppy thirds.
- Are you better off not using tongue in an effort to minimize germs? - No, any germs that are on the tongue are also on the lips.
- Would mouthwash reduce the transmission of germs during a make-out? - Yes. Reduce, but not eliminate. But it's not just for bad breath germs, it also works for the germs we'd be concerned about in making out. Also, Dr. Goldstein would not recommend using mouthwash to reduce germs in sloppy thirds by applying it to the genitals.
- What is the most preventable making out transmittable disease? - Flus and colds can be easily prevented by washing your hands more and avoiding sick people.
- If we've already been close to sick people, does kissing do any additional damage? If we've already kissed a little bit, does kissing more do any additional damage? - Not really. Most of these germs are airborne illnesses, so breathing the same air is what transmits them. Kissing / additional kissing does not really transmit them moreso. This does not apply, however, for herpes.
- When are you the most contagious? - When you have a sore throat.
- What can I do to minimize the risk that I will transmit germs to someone else? - I suggested Vitamin C or Cold-Eze, but Dr. Goldstein said nothing short of not breathing the same air as someone would do the trick. The same is true for your partner, as not much can be done to resist catching something when kissing an infected partner. Dr. Goldstein recommends making out with medical professionals since they are required to be up to date on their shots.
- What are these two flu vaccines I've heard about? - One is for the regular seasonal flu and one is for swine flu. They are not substitutes for each other, they are both very different. The CDC has a website about them. One of the vaccines become available in mid-October and concerns exist about adequate availability.
- How can you reduce the transmission of herpes? - Making out while someone does not have a breakout leaves you relatively safe. You can ask your partner if they have any tingling or burning sensation on their lips, as these are warning signs of herpes.
- Why don't we just put Valtrex in the water supply, thereby reducing herpes outbreaks without side effects? - It's expensive. GSG doesn't like this excuse.
- Does kissing the nose, ears, etc... leave a person vulnerable to additional diseases? - Ear infections don't come from kissing ears, but from a nose infection that traveled to the ear internally. Licking an ear enough, however, could result in swimmer's ear.
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Good point re: there not really being jobs out there that you do BETTER while sick.
ReplyDeleteI think we need a third and a fourth mic. It's getting very difficult to say anything in that room with all those invited guests and your massive hat.