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.
Edison knew that a new technology wouldn’t catch on and sell if no one wanted to use it, so to popularise 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]