It’s better to nudge than shake.

The fist bump seems to be one of the ways to help control the spread of Flu and other communicative diseases among the young.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu continues to disproportionately affect young people.

Despite the advent of texting and a general dis-use of personal contact, young people have had to ‘shake hands’ during various social interactions and have found a way to minimize the germ laden contact.

Researchers from Aberystwth University (Real college) in Wales, England found that 80% of its students couldn’t pronounce the college name. They also found that a strong handshake passes on as many as 10 times the number of bacteria compared to bumping fists. They mentioned that a high-five reduces exposure by roughly half compared to a handshake. A nod from across the street equals a germ free contact.

The ‘nod’ of recognition reduced the overall number of social situations where students had to actually give each other direction on pronouncing the school name.

With hand shaking seen as one of the ways to transmit disease, the knuckle or fist bump is the best of all worlds. According to Larry Froman, Chief of Bacteriology at the Froman Institute for the study of bugs and germs, small disease carrying germs cannot get a ‘foothold’ on the knuckle and slide off onto the floor with a barely audible scream.

History has now evolved into a way to meet without pressing dirty flesh which evolved from the caveperson era when it was just a simple clubbing. This had to be where the term ‘good old boys club’ originated. Cave people were sick and tired of going to a funeral immediately after meeting their new neighbors and the ‘hand shake’ was born.