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Inkfreak

(1,695 posts)
Tue Jul 29, 2014, 11:18 AM Jul 2014

Fist Bumps Relay 90% Less Germs Than Handshakes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ditching handshakes in favor of more informal fist bumps could help cut down on the spread of bacteria and illnesses, according to a study released on Monday.

The study in the American Journal of Infection Control found that fist bumps, where two people briefly press the top of their closed fists together, transferred about 90 percent less bacteria than handshakes.

"People rarely think about the health implications of shaking hands," Dave Whitworth, a biologist at Aberystwyth University in the United Kingdom who co-authored the study, said in a statement.

"If the general public could be encouraged to fist bump, there is genuine potential to reduce the spread of infectious diseases," he said.


Link: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSKBN0FX1Q820140729?irpc=932

Standard procedure for me at work. I go in a lot of prisons & mental health facilities. Inmates & "clients" are always trying to shake hands. I usually carry tools or paperwork in my hands so I can't. But when I get caught off guard, I always throw up the fist.

Meeting people in casual circumstances is a little different. I tend to just shake hands to avoid awkwardness. I do hate cold, clammy hands though. Gross.
13 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Fist Bumps Relay 90% Less Germs Than Handshakes (Original Post) Inkfreak Jul 2014 OP
ooh yeah IronLionZion Jul 2014 #1
I'm sticking with the head-nod-with-a-hey. n/t PoliticAverse Jul 2014 #2
I tend to agree. Inkfreak Jul 2014 #4
That's me Populist_Prole Jul 2014 #11
Excellent... SidDithers Jul 2014 #3
Wish I could say I'm not guilty of the same thing, lol. (nt) Inkfreak Jul 2014 #5
I find that less and less people use correct grammar. Nye Bevan Jul 2014 #9
Your a bad, bad person... SidDithers Jul 2014 #10
So how come we haven't gone extinct? TexasProgresive Jul 2014 #6
I suppose it's more of comfort/preventative thing. Inkfreak Jul 2014 #8
We weren't meant to be this crowded laundry_queen Jul 2014 #12
TERRORIST fist bumps? xfundy Jul 2014 #7
I will never forget laundry_queen Jul 2014 #13

Inkfreak

(1,695 posts)
4. I tend to agree.
Tue Jul 29, 2014, 12:22 PM
Jul 2014

However, a lot of these guys are in these places cause they tend not to pick up on social cues, lol. They will not be denied, at times.

Populist_Prole

(5,364 posts)
11. That's me
Tue Jul 29, 2014, 12:47 PM
Jul 2014

Ever the reserved type, about the only way I know to make a more enthusiastic greeting is adding the half-hearted "salute" with two fingers with a deadpan "how y 'doin?"

SidDithers

(44,228 posts)
3. Excellent...
Tue Jul 29, 2014, 12:06 PM
Jul 2014

Wouldn't it be nice, though, if Reuters knew when to properly use "less" and when to properly use "fewer"?

Sid

TexasProgresive

(12,148 posts)
6. So how come we haven't gone extinct?
Tue Jul 29, 2014, 12:24 PM
Jul 2014

I got germs, you got germs, we all got germs!
And I still have a working immune system-how about you?

Inkfreak

(1,695 posts)
8. I suppose it's more of comfort/preventative thing.
Tue Jul 29, 2014, 12:34 PM
Jul 2014

As I said, I just don't wanna touch the hands of a lot of these people in the mental health facilities. Some do some fairly gross things at times.

laundry_queen

(8,646 posts)
12. We weren't meant to be this crowded
Tue Jul 29, 2014, 02:37 PM
Jul 2014

and if we do go extinct, or experience a culling, chances are it will be due to a new contagious illness. For most of mankind's history, we rarely came into contact with outsiders. Our immune systems aren't up to the task, imo. Just having a couple of small kids in school will make you realize how easy it is to get sick, constantly, even if you have a 'great' immune system.

laundry_queen

(8,646 posts)
13. I will never forget
Tue Jul 29, 2014, 02:41 PM
Jul 2014

in class a few years ago, I had a marketing prof who insisted on teaching us how to handshake 'properly'. We had to shake hands with everyone in the class (50 people or so). Afterwards, 90% of the class RAN to the washrooms to scrub our hands clean, LOL. No one enjoyed shaking hands with that many people. I've never been a fan of handshaking for the whole 'germ' reason. I can always imagine that the person I'm shaking hands with was just picking their nose, or that they didn't wash their hands after they wiped their ass. You never know.

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