Same here.
In the UK we’re gonna shake hands as opposed to anything else, although as living for 10 yrs in Sweden we’ll just double kiss & definitely not worry about Covid-19 
We must be slipping - this is post #42 and there has yet to be a “handshake = rape” joke.
In all seriousness none of those are that unambiguous. In standard fashion, the headline overstates the details of the articles, which in turn narrow and simplify the actual research for the ones that actually link to it.
ETA: When I say “in standard fashion” I only mean the common practice of handling the difficulty of headline writing in general, not suggesting any conspiracy on the issue
Carol - I was thinking the same re handshake rape
Ah, so Asians are less than human? :rolleyes:
I know you didn’t mean it like that, but that was an astonishingly Western-centric thing to say. (Despite the fact that handshaking is becoming more common in Asia)
And of course at the trade show not only are people walking up to shake my hand, but at least two mocked me for fist bumping instead.
We are doomed.
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Except for the occasional mass-extinction biological bug we might be better off shaking hands. that’s how our immune system keeps it’s virus protection up to date. That and the 5 second rule.
But you could always moon-walk your way through a convention wearing gloves. It’s got to have more name recognition than a business card.
I hesitate to wade into the “germs are good for you” argument. Clearly, many are very, very bad for us. Hand-washing is GOOD. We should do it more often. Yet this whole idea that avoiding all physical contact with other humans is good for us strikes me as being, well, wrong. I’m not a subscriber to the “hygiene hypothesis.” Yet I can see how our persnickety dread of all “germs” is neither realistic nor helpful.
I absolutely would NOT have let my kids roll around on the floor of the subway, but they’ve ridden the El without harm. With all due affection, kids are basically walking petrie dishes. And Japan, where people tend to bow instead of shake hands, has had its share of epidemics. Furthermore, we each carry about 3 pounds of bacteria with us every day. The corona virus is a very, very bad thing. But the idea that we’re all going to be healthier if we simply avoid human contact is misguided.
The virus is nature’s way of trimming the population.
Sometimes it employs hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.
The earth is finite.
If shaking hands kills ya, it was your turn. Enjoy the voyage. Knowing the the surviving members will have sufficient resources.
Of course I shake hands, to ensure the other isn’t carrying a weapon there. That’s the tradition. I especially shake surgeons’ hands because they could have scalpels. Sure, we could just raise and wave our hands as if surrendering, to show our innocence. Or we could thump our chests like Tarzan. But a handshake is so authoritative. Besides, if you’re already infected, why not take a few others with you? 
I still shake hands and hug my friends who initiate it, but I’ve long avoided shaking hands with strangers. Sometimes I extend my fist, sometimes I feign ignorance to the custom.
A few months ago at work I had a woman aggressively stick out her hand wanting to shake. She refused to back down and my refusal to participate was just as strong.
Here it is:
Boyhowdy, was she ever pissed off!
I honestly have no idea. Haven’t seen him since. Though I like to imagine that he does. Makes me smile.
Some of Congress is recommending switching from the archaic handshake to the Vulcan salute.
So Live Long and Prosper. ������������ ������������
ETA: Sorry link to the news story: Spock's Vulcan salute as greeting reportedly spreads to Congress - CNET
Emojis: vulcan
I really hope we can end it with this. I’m going to try to eliminate it for myself. Particularly handshakes with strangers.
No one else but I touches those things. Why should I worry about them in particular?
Over my lifetime we have become more cautious about those things. Doorknobs have become less common anyway. It’s rare to have to put your fingers on a knob and turn it, except for maybe the one door to your residence.
We use paper towels to shut off faucets after washing our hands and yo open restroom doors.
We wipe down gym equipment before and after use.
I’m sorry, but this is risible. Handshakes are obligatory in certain formal social situations. They’re not the key to our health.
Do you wash your hands after every time you touch anything else before you touch you phone or whatever?
Does it matter what those “anything elses” are? Or do you literally mean anything?
What if I rarely touch anything that other people are likely to touch?
My point is that your phone and whatever is exactly as disgusting as everything else you’ve touched since you last washed your hands.
Well, that raises the question of “what constitutes proper hygiene,” doesn’t it?
It strikes me that there’s a LOT of real estate between Mary Mallon’s sanitation practices and dousing oneself with Purell every time one allows one’s skin to make physical contact with a surface.
Meanwhile, I’ve found my pathway to riches!
I’ma buy about a thousand really cheap (I’m talking maybe five bucks a pair) ping pong paddles. And a jigsaw. Then I’ll cut all the paddles into hand shapes, dress them up with features to make them resemble actual hands, and sell them for twenty bucks apiece (possibly more, depending on how much labor is involved in the fabricating process).
I may even branch out into hand-paddles with articulated finger joints and opposable thumbs, for people who PREFER to fist-bump. That part of the scheme is down the road a bit, though.
The question isn’t overall disgustingness. It’s the odds in picking up new microbes from other people.
I’m not saying not to clean one’s house keys. But it’s in a different category than another person’s handshake.
Here’s one
And here’s another
And this one
Yes, those are three of your links.
The only potential difference between what jtur88 said and what current science says on the subject is that exposure to disease causing pathogens, dangerous pathogens, is not part of the diverse exposure that is recommended for our immune system. jtur88 did say “mild pathogens”, which I believe puts his statement in line with the current thinking.