The essence of the “Italian kiss” is that two lovers must eat the same spaghetti until they approach each other and kiss. The most famous such kiss in world cinema was captured in the full-length Disney animated film “Lady and the Tramp” (1955).

On International Kissing Day, which is celebrated annually on July 6, the German restaurant chain Vapiano gathered just under 0.5 thousand couples in a hangar at Berlin Tempelhof Airport. According to the chain’s owners, they set up several hundred tables with red tablecloths and full restaurant service to create a romantic mood for participants. It took them 20 hours. Also in the hangar were four bar counters, a stage and a kitchen where pasta was prepared.

At the entrance, all couples were photographed and given bracelets to count the exact number of participants. To set the record, each couple had to manage to eat one piece of spaghetti within 30 seconds without tearing it, and then kiss. 12 people monitored the fulfillment of all conditions.

The previous record – 433 pairs – had stood since June 2022 and belonged to the Belgian company Upgrade Estate.

Earlier on Valentine’s Day, four-time South African freediving champion Beth Neal and her boyfriend Miles Cloutier set the world record for an underwater kiss. It lasted 4 minutes 6 seconds underwater in a pool at one of the resorts in the Maldives. Their kiss broke the previous record of 3 minutes 24 seconds, which was set 13 years ago on the Italian TV show Lo Show dei Record.