They say going to war without Canada is like going deer hunting without an accordion (ok, they actually say that about the French, but whatever). And we’ve had repeated run-ins with our frozen neighbor to the north in the past (see here, here, here). So you’d think the Canadians wouldn’t be our first choice of allies in our war against the hand shake.
But they also say the enemy of your enemy is your friend. And so, by that crazy logic, I am now friends with Canada. Or at least, one in three Canadians. Because they’ve joined us, CNN, the Dalai Lama, the Obamas, the Boston Globe and some random town in Germany in our fight against the dreaded, disease spreading hand shake.
From The Globe And Mail, which writes that one in three Canadians won’t shake hands due to flu concerns:
A Canadian Press-Harris Decima poll found roughly one-third of those surveyed said they were less inclined to shake hands because of the H1N1 virus.
…
Across the world, people have been urged to cut down on their contact with others. Olympic officials have advised athletes to think twice about shaking hands or kissing, suggesting some might want to bump elbows instead.
Health officials in Spain and France have said it might be a good idea for citizens to avoid the customary kiss of greeting on both cheeks.
Ridiculous? A little. But people keep sending these articles in, so we keep posting them.
Its nice to be one out of three.
We shall not let Arrington’s heebee jeebee phobia penetrate Vancouver!!
I don’t know who those non hand-shakers are. I live downtown and we’re still full on givin skin…
handshake gives opportunity to touch/hold girls’ hands, i will never let it go. If you want to stop h1n1, then dont touch your face with hand – never.
.. is it really that hard to wash your hands before you eat?
Dumb idea.
My elbows are sore already.
And in 20 years just being the same room as someone, and breathing the SAME AIR as someone will be considered unhealthy.
But that’s ok. No problem. By then we should have some pretty nice advances in virtual meetings and video conferencing. I won’t ever have to leave my house!
Reminds me of an old Asimov novel, The Naked Sun. Virtual meetings, video conferencing and robots.
That’s not so silly – the flu is more easily spread through sneezes and coughs than handshaking.
Look what I found on wikipedia
http://en.wikip...iki/Haptephobia
Mike, you owe me $200 for the diagnosis
a) Again, bonus points for relevance. The “people keep sending these articles in, so we keep posting them” line is going to get really old, really fast.
b) Respek knuckles is the new handshake.
c) Still content to not be American.
Your skin is there for a reason. Just because you touch something doesn’t mean it instantly enters your blood stream. Breathing is just as dangerous.
Just avoid putting your fingers in your mouth, and wash your hands before eating.
“Breathing is just as dangerous.”
I should say, breathing *can be* just as dangerous.
Which is to say, given the choice, I’d rather shake a sick person’s hand than be around them when the cough/sneeze.
There sure are a whole bunch of pansies out there. People need to harden up.
Michael, while I agree with the no-handshake initiative, do you touch the bathroom door handle, the salt shaker at a restaurant or the strap on a bus/subway? All of those are lot more filthy than some individual’s hand.
If you’re so worried about shaking hands just carry some Purell on you.
Seriously, Americans do most things based on fear. Not handshaking people is taking it too far…
Stick to writing stories about technology.
So is the double kiss ok?
Jazz
Tripulu.com
no the bisou or whatever it is…i heard some villages, cities, towns in france are considering banning it for a period. some places in aussie and england banning handshakes. it’s gone worldwide. people hate cordial formalities. let’s move on to namaste. i don’t hate that one, yet.
Famous Canadian, Pamela Anderson has endorsed the “Boob Squeeze” as alternative welcome. Now that, would be a plan you can implement.
There’s such a thing as extending a joke too long. This whole handshake thing is getting really boring.
At my university graduation during the SARS scare of ‘03, the Dean bowed to us instead of shaking hands. Anybody else graduate from York that year? You know what I’m talkin’ about.
i heard about it and it still makes me laugh. amazing.
It’s ridiculous what happened
This handshake issue is still considered ‘current’ news? I can’t even comprehend why it got so much attention to begin with. It’s a retarded idea, let it die.
sdfgsgf
This is not stupid, actually. People are travelling widely and mixing more than ever in history. Contagious disease is an issue, more so than in the past. The rational response is to minimise skin contact where it’s not really necessary.
Yes, it is stupid. There’s no way the flu could spread as quickly and as far as it did because of skin contact. It much more likely spread through sneezes and coughs in closed areas, like airplanes.
Aren’t the asian countries on your side with the bow culture?ing
Kenny vs Spenny is awesome.
Canadians are smart. They avoid handshakes because they know if they get sick, it will be a 4 month wait to see a doctor about it.
ahahahaaa that’s not true.
first thing i did when i went home was wash my hands. i don’t understand how hard that is. i think there’s some research out there that when people’s hands are scanned with the white light, there’s fecal matter on people’s hands because apparently we don’t know how to wash properly and we don’t know for how long and we don’t use warm water instead of thinking freezing water or hot water will get rid of all germs and best of all we don’t use SOAP. like fuck my life. nasty people everywhere. i guess i just contribute to this stupid culture of idiocy, but i support your quest arrington. i hope we succeed.
1 in 3 will not shake hands.. so that means 1 out of every 3 Canadian is paraniod. That’s not bad compared to the 3 in 3 americans that are paraniod about everything.
Wash your hands often, and let your body build some immunity!
Along with hand shake, it is time start a war against the new solar powered trashcans that soon might be coming to SF. They are all over the place on the East Coast (Boston, Cambridge, and on..)
You can’t put trash into this can without touching the handle… Thousands of people touch the same handle every day, day after day and proceed about their business with germs.
You have to use one hand to open this trash can and another one to throw garbage in — otherwise it does not work. If you have a bag or a little child in one of your hands, you have to put them on the ground first, open the trash can, and then put garbage in. Then pick your child/baby up, spread the germ, and keep going. Good intentions with very poor design.
http://www.bigbellysolar.com/
>>> with our frozen neighbor to the north
Oh man, this is so fucking funny. I bet the writer spent a good three or four minutes coming up with this stereotypical bullshit.
And no, Canada is not pals with you pal.