People-Watching

Some interesting tidbits found in The Institute for Bathroom Readers Uncle John's Legendary Lost Bathroom Reader:

"1. American friends touch will each other in conversation about twice

2. British friends generally won't touch each other at all

3. By comparison, the French can't keep their hands off each other, they average 110 touches an hour

4. But Puerto Ricans were the most tactile in the study, with about 180 "touches" in the same period"

This is something that I mention in orientation to my new hires: harassment is any percieved action considered to be unwelcome. One of those things is standing too close to another, but for each person and for each culture it is different. I've noticed that Greek and some Eastern Bloc nations denizens will stand very close and if you inch away, they'll follow you as you go. In their cultures, standing very close is percieved as showing an interest. OK... In our culture it is considered to be 18" that makes the distance between one person and another acceptable. In other cultures, 2 feet is more ideal. Hard to know where that line is.

I also know that when it comes to my Latin and South American employees, the ones that know me well are very tactile, which is fine. I happen to be a very tactile person, too, one of the qualities that makes me a good EMT - I'm not afraid to touch people. I went through the First Responder and then two EMT courses (the initial 120 hour course and one 24 hour refresher) and had no issues handling people but many of my classmates were very tentative in touching others. I suspect that is one of the more difficult aspects for a large percentage of people to get past, but for me, that wasn't one of my issues.

More interesting tidbits:

"--If you are a man, the farther you sit from the other person (within a range of 2 - 10 feet), the more willing you are to talk intimately about yourself

--If you'e a woman, the closer you sit together (within a range of 2 - 10 feet), the more willing you are to talk about intimate details about yourself

--Within a range of 2 - 10 feet (whether you're a man or a woman), you'll talk with a stranger longer and volunteer the most about intimate topics at a distance of 5 feet"

Now that is interesting... I would think that at 5 feet, too many others can clearly hear you from a better distance. Gods know, I'm not one to shy away from conversations regarding intimate details, but at 5 feet? That seems unwise...

"+ Want a long life? A recent study of about 2,700 individuals found lower death rates among those who volunteered their time to a favourite charity or cause

+ Another interesting study in behaviour had students watch a movie on Mother Theresa. The film depicted her administering to the needy and sick, bringing comfort and solace. Immediately following the fil, researchers found in the students a significant increase in immunoglobulin, an antibody that helps the body fight respiratory infections."

Wow. I wish I had watched that on Friday!