Anyone (the Harlequin romance book publisher, for one) who tries to patent a kiss must contend with US patent #3603029, issued on September 7, 1971 to William B. Nutting of New York, New York.
Mr. Nutting’s invention, described as a “kiss throwing doll”, features (says Mr. Nutting) “a central shaft upon which I mount a rotatable driving spool for oscillatory movement under the influence of a drawstring in one direction and under the bias of a coils spring in the other direction.” Metaphorically, has anyone every devised a more perfect description of the romantic kiss? The drawing below is from Mr. Nutting’s patent:
BONUS: The patent for the wheel. The inventor and the Australian patent office, which granted this patent, shared the 2001 Ig Nobel Prize in technology.
BONUS: Harlequin’s patent application for “The Essential Romantic Kiss”, and related web site. Because nothing says romance like a seven-page patent application.