Etiquette experts agree that these are tricky times. "As a society we're saying that for our safety we need to change basic social interaction," the kinds of niceties that have been ingrained for generations, says Anna Post, spokeswoman for The Emily Post Institute. Considering how global our culture has become Post says "this could be the beginning of a huge social shift."
At work and at restaurants, the swine-flu savvy are offering up dollops of antibacterial gel. At parties, they're resisting the urge to double dip. At grocery stores, they're swabbing cart handles with sanitized wipes. At church, they're receiving Communion in the hand rather than on the tongue and bypassing the communal chalice and holy water font.
And for those who don't follow society's new rules on public hygiene – who, for instance, cough uncovered into a crowded subway car – they're shooting off the stink eye.
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