The need for social distances has forced a rethink of the handshake.
No matter how friendly, it is an exchange of potentially infectious microorganisms. This report produced by Zachary Goelman.
Hello, social distancing. Goodbye, handshakes?
(SOUNDBITE) (English) DOROTHY NOYES, PROFESSOR OF FOLKLORE AT OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, SAYING: "The handshake is what gets photographed at the time of any agreement.
The handshake is that physical symbol, that bodily symbol of something that is happening in a transfer of recognition and responsibility and we are doing it in a way that is visible." It started centuries ago as a gesture to prove you weren’t holding a weapon, and over time emerged as a symbol of agreement, ending conflict, new beginnings, and leadership.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) DOROTHY NOYES, PROFESSOR OF FOLKLORE AT OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, SAYING: "The notion of the handshake is a manly kind of thing, as opposed to effeminate, French bowing or, you know, oriental bowing." Dorothy Noyes teaches folklore at Ohio State University, and says the gesture is particularly prized by leaders who want to project strength with a firm grip.
U.S. President Donald Trump deploys it, sometimes as overkill.
He once held the hand of Japanese President Shinzo Abe for a full twenty seconds.
French President Emmanuel Macron seemed ready to take on Trump palm-to-palm.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) DOROTHY NOYES, PROFESSOR OF FOLKLORE AT OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, SAYING: "It's seen as a manly thing, it becomes a kind of test of virility.
If you think about when Donald Trump met Emmanuel Macron and they had these kind of contests as of who was going to give the longest, you know, hardest squeeze." But pressing the flesh isn’t the same as it once was.
Social-distancing has forced a rethink of the handshake.
No matter how friendly, it is an exchange of potentially infectious microorganisms. Microbiologist Charles Gerba: (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICROBIOLOGIST, CHARLES GERBA, AKA DR. GERM, SAYING: "Think about it the next time you cough or sneeze or go to the toilet, what probably gets on your hands all the time.
So, and actually you are always picking up microbes all the time, everytime you touch a surface, you may be picking up up to 50 percent of the organisms on that surface." Some leaders have started to change their ways.
Vice President Mike Pence bumped elbows on a March visit with first responders in Washington State.
For others, old habits die hard.
German leader Angela Merkel extended her hand at a cabinet meeting, but her interior minister politely declined.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte shook hands with his own top health official, and then quickly apologized.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE, SAYING: "In our line of work, you shake hands when someone wants to shake your hand.
And I expect the president will continue to do that.
I'll continue to do it." But that doesn't mean humans can’t adapt.
Tok Thomson is an anthropologist at USC.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) TOK THOMPSON, ANTHROPOLOGIST AT USC, SAYING: "So, really, the heart of it is not necessarily what we do, if you bump fists or shake hands or pat each other on the back or whatever it is, the thing that matters the most is the shared meaning.
So, the thing is, do we all agree on what the new thing will be and what it means.
Or whatever we do, bowing, or whatever the next step is going to be, if handshaking falls out of favor.
It is not about the thing itself, it is about the message behind the thing."