Science Says It's Healthier To Fist Bump So Hopefully That'll Put An End to Awkward Handshakes

(Reuters) – Ditching handshakes in favor of more informal fist bumps could help cut down on the spread of bacteria and illnesses, according to a study released on Monday. The study in the American Journal of Infection Control found that fist bumps, where two people briefly press the top of their closed fists together, transferred about 90 percent less bacteria than handshakes. “People rarely think about the health implications of shaking hands,” Dave Whitworth, a biologist at Aberystwyth University in the United Kingdom who co-authored the study, said in a statement. “If the general public could be encouraged to fist bump, there is genuine potential to reduce the spread of infectious diseases,” he said.

Nothing in the world is worse than getting caught in the no-man’s land between a handshake and a fist bump. You go in with one, the other person comes back with the other, you do a quick little hand dance and all of a sudden you’re either palming a fist or end up getting gripped too early and lady shake it. But thanks to this recent study, hopefully this struggle can become a thing of the past. As someone who suffers from chronic clammy hands, I don’t mind the fist bump at all. I get there’s a time and place for it but it looks like its stock is on the rise. Not only will I no longer have to risk looking like an idiot wiping off my hands on my pants before a shake, but I’ll also be reducing the spread of infectious diseases. I’ve been choosing a healthier lifestyle all this time and I didn’t even know it. Obama likes to fist bump, too, and he’s the leader of the free world. Bump it.