UCONN Doctors Create a New Safer Personal Greeting

Enough with the fist bump and elbow bump. Check out the new 'LMG' greeting.

According to an article on the website, wfsb.com, the new personal greeting was created by Dr. Cato T. Laurencin and Dr. Aneesah McClinton from the Connecticut Convergence Institute at UCONN Health in Farmington. They call it the 'Laurencin-McClinton Greeting' or the 'LMG.'

Was it necessary to come up with a new approach to greet each other? No, but the two doctors had their reasons. They pointed out that one handshake can transmit about 124 million bacteria, and when we sneeze or cough, we do it into our elbow. The LMG method is safer. These are the old school COVID-19 greetings.

The LMG greeting is simple. The first step is making a fist and putting it on your heart, bring your forearm out to a 45-degree angle, and then greet the other person who has done the same thing. Dr. Laurencin told WFSB that the hand on the heart is a sign of respect, peace. And compassion. The new LMG greeting has caught on quickly around campus at the University of Connecticut.

I must say, these two UCONN doctors may be on to something. Almost anything is better than the fist and elbow bump. The fist bump is way past its prime, and the elbow bump just looks goofy. Here's a crazy idea, how about actually voicing the greeting like, "Hi, how are you?" or "Good to see you!" while maintaining social distancing protocol? I know, it's a crazy-ass idea.