Ever since the novel coronavirus upended the world, people have rushed to predict which norms are gone forever. Chief among them: the handshake, with all its symbolism of sealed deals and sportsmanship. Yet history suggests such physical pleasantries aren't so easily eradicated. Consider the kiss. As a greeting, the European double-cheek smooch and its cousin, the air kiss, are the handshakes of high society and excellent contenders for the banished list. (This is possibly a welcome development for the legions of Americans who've ever bungled the ritual abroad.) The kiss has "had its moments of crisis," says Herman Roodenburg, a cultural historian at the Meertens Institute in Amsterdam. England's King Henry Ⅵ banned the act in 1439 to combat an epidemic of bubonic plague that had ravaged Europe over the previous century. Kissing wasn't common among peasants, but it was how knights paid homage to the king, and he sure didn't want to catch the plague.
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