funny bone bump...
As late as last February, we weren't yet sure how bad a spreading virus could affect the world, let alone our individual communities.
And, at about the same time, national and world health officials were telling the world population to avoid shaking hands with anyone they encounter.
The greeting is a repeated practice that dates to the 5th century B.C. Ancient Greeks considered the gesture a symbol of peace. It's now gone.
Replacing the time-honored custom during the start of the pandemic was the installation of a reoccurring concept, the elbow bump. Even though it was short-lived, the act was doomed from the start and surely would have gone by the wayside even sooner had it been allowed to exist in normal times.
You may recall elbow bumping was revived during the avian flu crises in 2006. It returned in 2009 during the swine flu epidemic, and it made its most recent revival in 2014 when the Ebola flu peaked.
If we never see it again, it would be okay with me.
The problem with the elbow bump? We don't know how to do it. Here's what HUH? What's up with that? found out after conducting our own experiments.
There were four times I tried to elbow bump someone, only to meet in failure each episode.
The first exchange occurred when a friend approached me and I extended my hand for the usual greeting. He said, Oh no, put out your elbow. I replied, Oh, yeah, I forgot. He then extended his left elbow. I was flummoxed. My first thought was, Shouldn't he put out the same arm he uses to shake hands?
It left me with a decision. Do I offer my right or left elbow? An important choice because the whole physiology changes depending upon my decision. Finally, my friend saw my indecisiveness and took matters into his own elbows. He simply said, Oh, let's forget it.
The second elbow bump came when it was least expected. I was rounding an aisle in the supermarket when an acquaintance nearly collided into my shopping cart. He immediately put out his elbow and I did the same. The only problem here was we collided funny bones causing each one of us to let out a mild yelp.
The funny bone sensation is like no other we experience at any time. It's difficult to explain, but you immediately know when you've hit that sensitive part. And, almost coinciding with the injury, it's almost necessary to blurt out, I just hit my funny bone! An exclamation that could have gone unsaid, but for some reason, it's like a conditioned response. We say it as if the person standing next to us needs to know you just hit your funny bone.
The funny thing about the funny bone? It's not a bone! According to Verywell Health.com, you are really hitting a nerve called the ulnar nerve. It passes around the back of the elbow and doesn't have any cushioning around it and that causes the irritation we feel.
My third experience with the elbow bump occurred in a doctor's office.
It happened just before the majority of doctors switched to Telehealth visits. When the doctor came in to the examination room, she had gloves and a mask on and she smiled a greeting. As she shut the door, she extended her elbow and I did the same. The problem came about because I extended too much of my forearm as if we were going to compare each other's arm length.
The doctor in a polite way said, No, no, just the elbow. That was bad enough, but the most embarrassing part of the meeting happened next. She went over to a sink and scrubbed her arm. Following a complete arm scrub, she applied sanitizer. I was humbled.
It would have been easy to give up on the elbow bump as a greeting after the final time I used it, but by then, social distancing had become common practice. Here's what happened.
It was my last day at my part-time employment prior to taking a CoVid-19 sabbatical.
A frequent customer came into the waiting area. In normal times, we would have high fived each other or some such silliness. Instead, his elbow was protruding at a 90 degree angle and I thought he wanted to elbow bump. He didn't. He was merely trying to balance his open cup of coffee without spilling it after he had dropped his cell phone. Belatedly, I saw his intention, but by then I was already on a collision course.
After we get through CoVid-19, it wouldn't surprise me if all customary greetings come to a halt. Maybe a socially acceptable hand shake is replaced by a mere nod of the head.
Perhaps the days of going to work when you don't feel well are over too.
Will we see disposable menus in restaurants? The list of modifications could be endless.
I can accept those changes. However, the public segment I'm struggling to accept are toilet paper hoarders! Why did a few take so many? Well, that's another story, But, it does sound like a classic case of CYA. HUH? What's up with that?
As late as last February, we weren't yet sure how bad a spreading virus could affect the world, let alone our individual communities.
And, at about the same time, national and world health officials were telling the world population to avoid shaking hands with anyone they encounter.
The greeting is a repeated practice that dates to the 5th century B.C. Ancient Greeks considered the gesture a symbol of peace. It's now gone.
Replacing the time-honored custom during the start of the pandemic was the installation of a reoccurring concept, the elbow bump. Even though it was short-lived, the act was doomed from the start and surely would have gone by the wayside even sooner had it been allowed to exist in normal times.
You may recall elbow bumping was revived during the avian flu crises in 2006. It returned in 2009 during the swine flu epidemic, and it made its most recent revival in 2014 when the Ebola flu peaked.
If we never see it again, it would be okay with me.
The problem with the elbow bump? We don't know how to do it. Here's what HUH? What's up with that? found out after conducting our own experiments.
There were four times I tried to elbow bump someone, only to meet in failure each episode.
The first exchange occurred when a friend approached me and I extended my hand for the usual greeting. He said, Oh no, put out your elbow. I replied, Oh, yeah, I forgot. He then extended his left elbow. I was flummoxed. My first thought was, Shouldn't he put out the same arm he uses to shake hands?
It left me with a decision. Do I offer my right or left elbow? An important choice because the whole physiology changes depending upon my decision. Finally, my friend saw my indecisiveness and took matters into his own elbows. He simply said, Oh, let's forget it.
The second elbow bump came when it was least expected. I was rounding an aisle in the supermarket when an acquaintance nearly collided into my shopping cart. He immediately put out his elbow and I did the same. The only problem here was we collided funny bones causing each one of us to let out a mild yelp.
The funny bone sensation is like no other we experience at any time. It's difficult to explain, but you immediately know when you've hit that sensitive part. And, almost coinciding with the injury, it's almost necessary to blurt out, I just hit my funny bone! An exclamation that could have gone unsaid, but for some reason, it's like a conditioned response. We say it as if the person standing next to us needs to know you just hit your funny bone.
The funny thing about the funny bone? It's not a bone! According to Verywell Health.com, you are really hitting a nerve called the ulnar nerve. It passes around the back of the elbow and doesn't have any cushioning around it and that causes the irritation we feel.
My third experience with the elbow bump occurred in a doctor's office.
It happened just before the majority of doctors switched to Telehealth visits. When the doctor came in to the examination room, she had gloves and a mask on and she smiled a greeting. As she shut the door, she extended her elbow and I did the same. The problem came about because I extended too much of my forearm as if we were going to compare each other's arm length.
The doctor in a polite way said, No, no, just the elbow. That was bad enough, but the most embarrassing part of the meeting happened next. She went over to a sink and scrubbed her arm. Following a complete arm scrub, she applied sanitizer. I was humbled.
It would have been easy to give up on the elbow bump as a greeting after the final time I used it, but by then, social distancing had become common practice. Here's what happened.
It was my last day at my part-time employment prior to taking a CoVid-19 sabbatical.
A frequent customer came into the waiting area. In normal times, we would have high fived each other or some such silliness. Instead, his elbow was protruding at a 90 degree angle and I thought he wanted to elbow bump. He didn't. He was merely trying to balance his open cup of coffee without spilling it after he had dropped his cell phone. Belatedly, I saw his intention, but by then I was already on a collision course.
After we get through CoVid-19, it wouldn't surprise me if all customary greetings come to a halt. Maybe a socially acceptable hand shake is replaced by a mere nod of the head.
Perhaps the days of going to work when you don't feel well are over too.
Will we see disposable menus in restaurants? The list of modifications could be endless.
I can accept those changes. However, the public segment I'm struggling to accept are toilet paper hoarders! Why did a few take so many? Well, that's another story, But, it does sound like a classic case of CYA. HUH? What's up with that?
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