There’s a lot to be said for common sense…
As a rule of thumb, we don’t tend to touch strangers’ bums, but just in case you were a bit blurry about the lines, this body map may come in handy.
According to our JOE bros, researchers at Oxford University and Aalto University Finland surveyed thousands of Europeans about what they deem socially acceptable when it comes to physical contact, and created this handy heat map based on the results.
The lighter the colour, the cooler it is to touch the person there, and a zone coloured in black would be considered an inappropriate contact point.
Unsurprisingly, the crotch area is consistently black, apart from your partner’s of course, and the safest place to touch someone is usually the shoulder and arm area.
Respondents generally don’t want to be touched at all by strangers, except for a handshake, so maybe reconsider the chest bump.
