Handshakes are gross: Fist bump instead, study says

A fist bump a day keeps the doctor away?

A new study on bacterial transfer via common hand greetings found that the fist bump is a cleaner alternative to the standard handshake or high five.

Dr. Dave Whitworth of Wales' Aberystwyth University and a PhD student dipped their gloved hands in an E. coli solution and then tested all three common greetings. The results: A handshake transferred a high rate of bugs, while a high five passed along only about half as many. A fist bump, though, transferred fully 90 percent fewer bugs than did the handshake.

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"The hygienic nature of the fist bump may be due in part to its speed (typically much quicker than a first-rate handshake) but also because there is a smaller area involved," the university explained.