Two boys in Taiwan, brothers Tom and Steven, 16 and 12, do the shouldertouch to demonstrate how this might be used as swine flu N1H1 makes its way around the world, perhaps killing thousands worldwide...
Photo: Courtesy of "Teacher Birdd", father of the two boys
MORE PHOTOS:
http://northwardho.blogspot.com/2009/08/as-swine-flu-spreads-globally.html
5 comments:
Swine Flu Greeting
Apr 29, 2009 General Nonsense | Notify
A spy informs me that one firm is already telling its employees to avoid shaking hands as a way to lower the risks of swine flu. I can see this sort of policy catching on. My informant wonders what sort of greeting should replace the handshake. I'm on it.
There are few times in history when you have a chance to create a new and lasting custom. I say we put our collective minds together and come up with a business greeting that involves no skin-to-skin contact and no exchange of bodily fluids. I will open the bidding by suggesting the forearm bump. I already use this method jokingly with my friend who has germ issues. It's like crossing swords except you cross your sleeved forearm. The cooties don't have time to penetrate two layers of sleeves. Or so he thinks.
This new swine flu greeting still needs something extra, such as both people saying, "Huzaaa!" when their forearms touch.
An alternate move would involve making a fist and holding it up to your snout sideways, as if you are forming a pig's snout, snorting then finishing with a fist bump. That's still hand-on-hand contact, but at least it's the clean side.
Who has a better idea for a handshake replacement?
Well, we may turn ourselves into japanese people. :-)
The Thai wai is nice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_greeting
"Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent who has been covering the epidemic from Mexico, is advocating the "el-bump," or bumping of elbows, as a greeting." Log in to flag this comment
A guy in my office always either:
a) Crosses his right arm over his chest and nods his head, similar to a roman salute
b) Puts his hands together in front of his chest and nods his head.
Both perfectly acceptable greetings, in my mind. I'm also good at giving a small salute (salutation!) Log in to flag this comment
Thai greeting
The wai of a Thai bride
The wai has been adopted by western cultural symbols in Thailand, including Ronald McDonald.The Thai greeting referred to as the wai (Thai: ไหว้) or in Lao as kub consists of a slight bow, with the palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion. It is very similar to the Indian Añjali Mudrā/namasté and the Cambodian sampeah. The higher the hands are held in relation to the face and the lower the bow, the more respect or reverence the giver of the wai is showing.
The wai is also common as a way to thank someone or apologise.
The word often spoken with the wai as a greeting or farewell is sawatdee (สวัสดี). Phonetically, the word is pronounced "sa-wat-dee". This word was coined in the mid-1930s by Phraya Upakit Silapasan of Chulalongkorn University. This word, derived from the Sanskrit svasti (meaning "well-being"), had previously been used in Thai only as a formulaic opening to inscriptions. The strongly nationalist government of Plaek Pibulsonggram in the early 1940s promoted the use of the word sawatdee amongst the government bureaucracy as well as the wider populace as part of a wider set of cultural edicts to modernise Thailand.
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