# Let's fight H1N1 by abolishing the handshake. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 11, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485 "2009-06-11T20:34:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Man\_from\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Man\_from\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_from_Mars)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/21 "2009-06-12T01:47:29Z")
> [@Valteron](#): > > All you have to say is “It’s a new custom to help fight the flu. What makes you think I am avoiding YOUR germs? How do you know I am not the one who has the germs on HIS hand?” That’s what Elaine’s boss on Seinfeld intended when he refused to shake hands with the Japanese investors and look where that got him. Except instead of saying your rather long quote, he uttered the more succint (and understandably misinterpreted), “GERMS!!” ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/22 "2009-06-12T02:02:45Z")
May I point out that this epidemics spread just as quick (or even quicker for that matter) in regions/cultures where handshakes are not the social norm? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/23 "2009-06-12T02:54:34Z")
Good luck changing a long-ingrained custom like that. China spend millions trying to get people to stop spitting on the ground. But I still see it every single day. Anyway, I like handshakes. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/24 "2009-06-12T12:17:28Z")
The ‘SAR’s wave’ didn’t quite catch on last time around. even sven - that’s because you’re out in the sticks. that behavior declines as you go ea t. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/25 "2009-06-12T16:42:37Z")
Well, the Chinese also have the custom of eating by putting their chopsticks into the communal dish and that is quite deeply ingrained too. Handshakes are the least of your worries in China where the concept of “hygiene” has not quite arrived yet. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/26 "2009-06-12T17:03:43Z")
People need to touch each other. This has been proven. Removing one of the rare actual physical contacts we have with people would be worse than a flu pandemic. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/27 "2009-06-12T18:35:41Z")
I’ve recently begun promoting the fist bump. In fact, I went to a wedding about a month ago and used it exclusively. My next goal is to begin using it at work. But only once the economy improves, because if it doesn’t take, it would be an obvious CLM. To me, the inside of the hand would seem to be the dirtier, nastier part of the hand. Thus, the fist bump is cleaner, and there is still actual touching going on. What I really would hope is Obama beginning this new tradition. Diversity comes in different forms. Why are we stuck with an unhygenic custom, when there are cleaner and easier ways of doing it? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/28 "2009-06-12T19:02:45Z")
> [@Valteron](#): > > All you have to say is “It’s a new custom to help fight the flu. What makes you think I am avoiding YOUR germs? How do you know I am not the one who has the germs on HIS hand?” I’m sure that would make a good impression during a job interview. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/29 "2009-06-12T19:06:07Z")
A building code requirement that all restroom doors open outwards (so they can be pushed with a foot or elbow without touching bare hands where somebody else’s possibly unwashed and contaminated bare hands have just been) would probably do more to fight contagion and certainly much easier to implement. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/30 "2009-06-12T19:08:06Z")
> [@LilShieste](#): > > **Person A** : Hey, how’s it going? > **extends handshake** > > **Person B** : I’m alright. > **raises hand to wave** > > **Person A** : Oh, I see. You’re just too good to shake my hand, huh? Geez, people like you make me sick! > **spits** I am reminded of a scene from the old Adam West “Batman” show where Batman and the Penguin are engaged in an election contest. Batman demurs from kissing a baby, citing risk of spreading disease, and the mother gets horribly offended. (IIRC, this was the one with the debate where the Penguin pointed out that when Batman was in the news, he was associating with common criminals, whereas when the Pengiun himself was in the news, he was associating with officers of the law.) ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/31 "2009-06-12T19:49:03Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > A building code requirement that all restroom doors open outwards (so they can be pushed with a foot or elbow without touching bare hands where somebody else’s possibly unwashed and contaminated bare hands have just been) would probably do more to fight contagion and certainly much easier to implement. Better yet: no doors at all, just entrances constructed in such a way that they obstruct line-of-sight into the restroom (overlapping walls). My favorite thing about the women’s restroom on my floor of this office building? Motion-activated soap dispensers… but manual faucets on the sinks. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/32 "2009-06-12T19:49:28Z")
The handshake is an important tool in establishing social relationships. You can tell a lot about someone by their handshake if you are paying attention. The loss of that would coarsen the social fabric quite a bit as the knuckles are not as intimate and expressive as the palm. Handshakes has helped two men\* specifically size each other up in a very polite manner. EDIT: \*historically that is. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/33 "2009-06-12T20:01:57Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > You can tell a lot about someone by their handshake if you are paying attention. The loss of that would coarsen the social fabric quite a bit as the knuckles are not as intimate and expressive as the palm. Yeah, you can tell if they’ve been taught that a firm handshake combined with a direct look in the eye is the optimal business greeting. That’s what you can tell. It’s very, very important whether or not they’ve been taught that. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/34 "2009-06-12T20:03:19Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > Yeah, you can tell if they’ve been taught that a firm handshake combined with a direct look in the eye is the optimal business greeting. That’s what you can tell. It’s very, very important whether or not they’ve been taught that. There are levels of variation within the firm handshake. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/35 "2009-06-12T20:28:34Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > There are levels of variation within the firm handshake. Yes there are. Just as there are hundreds of degrees of force in the fist bump. And let’s not go into the 10,000 inflections of the social bow. :^) Seriously though, a firm business handshake just tells you who has accepted and absorbed the rules, and half of those people have done so for the purpose of hustling you. (well, maybe not half, but all the good hustlers know the rules, and generally better than the decent, reliable people.) I’d say you’re much better off listening to the details of the proposal, than trying to read someone’s palm. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/36 "2009-06-12T20:37:30Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Handshakes has helped two men\* specifically size each other up in a very polite manner. It’s the impolite handshakes I object to. Squeezers hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/37 "2009-06-12T21:07:51Z")
Personally, I’m more creeped out by limp handshakes than by crazy squeezers (of course, being a woman I’m sure I avoid a lot of the latter). I always make a little squeal of glee inside when I meet another woman with a firm handshake. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/38 "2009-06-12T21:33:03Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > People need to touch each other. This has been proven. I keep telling this to the women I meet but they insist I keep my hands to myself. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/39 "2009-06-12T21:35:34Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > I keep telling this to the women I meet but they insist I keep my hands to myself. A nice firm breast shake would probably spread fewer diseases! ---
**Author:** ![PetW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@PetW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PetW)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485/40 "2009-06-13T00:46:02Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > And get rid of condoms! Enjoy your sex! It’s just HIV for chassakes! Damn straight! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-fight-h1n1-by-abolishing-the-handshake/499485.md?page=3)