If you're a swine, drooling can be sexy.

Okay, so I picked up the April National Geographic at lunchtime and I randomly opened the magazine to find an article on saliva. Being an unusal topic, I had to read this short one-pager. Here's the nitty gritty....

Scientists are increasingly finding that saliva can provide a lot of information about a person. It apparently contains indicators of osteoporosis, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases. Because it contains DNA from cheek cells, scientists may be able to solve whodunits by analyzing saliva from licking envelopes or stamps (if that's the only available evidence in a case). Saliva also contains proteins that inhibit the transmission of AIDS but allow friendly bacteria to adhere to gums & teeth for the prevention of infections. Amazing stuff, spit...

In other animals, saliva has poison neutralizers and anticoagulants to assist with hunting & eating. However, the line that got me laughing was from the following section: "And, of course, saliva is a communication tool. We're not talking about the human tendency to connote contempt through flamboyant spitting. In pigs, saliva contains chemicals that signal sexual availability. If you're a swine, drooling can be sexy."