The Best Dating Advice

In these modern times, Belgians are beloved the world over for their chocolates, waffles and (to a lesser extent) doughnuts. But in 1771, while still under rule by Austria, they came up with something truly revolutionary: La Marche Des Canards.

Rumour has it that La Marche Des Canards was one of the weapons in Josephine de Beauharnais sexual “war chest”, used to seduce Napoleon Bonaparte in October of 1795. History tells us that six months later, he married her. Coincidence?

What was this weapon of seduction? It literally translates to English as “the march (or walk) of the ducks”. Derived from the way ducks will all waddle down to the pond in a single row and jump in the water, it describes the process of placing a line of petite kisses, starting at your lover’s forehead, down the bridge of their nose and “jumping” to their lips for the final smooch (big splash).

Historically, we lose track of it here, but “La Marche Des Canards” later resurfaces in the unlikeliest of places. After more than a century and a half, it shows up halfway across the world in the United States of America, just after the end of World War II. And, along with its transatlantic journey comes a new name: The Nose Dive.

While we only have anecdotal evidence to suggest that the name change came from returning U.S. Air Force pilots, “The Nose Dive”, does differ from its Belgian cousin in one important respect: The American “march” has been truncated and kisses only begin being placed on one’s lover’s nose mid-bridge.

Tags: French Kiss, Kissing Techniques, Nose Dive, Nose Kissing, Seduction, Smooch