At one time kissing in public was considered a scandalous act, which is probably why Thomas Edison, who was just as much a showman as he was an inventor, was responsible for capturing the first on-screen kiss way back in 1896.
https://gizmodo.com/celebrate-thomas-edisons-165th-birthday-with-a-crash-co-5884270
Edison knew that a new technology wouldn’t catch on and sell if no one wanted to use it, so to popularize motion pictures he captured footage of strip teases, boxing cats, and this 23-second clip which ends with Canadian actress May Irwin receiving a somewhat awkward kiss. So maybe we can also credit/blame Edison for bringing sex and violence to modern media as well. [Brain Pickings via Coudal]
