A Fist Bump is a hand gesture similar in meaning to a handshake or high-five, used as a greeting or in a celebratory fashion.

“The gesture is performed when two participants each form a closed fist with one hand and then lightly tap the front of their fists together. The participant’s fists may be either vertically oriented (perpendicular to the ground) or horizontally oriented.” Wikipedia

The history of the fist bump is as great as the gesture itself!  One origin has the fist bump being “invented” by Stan Musial, a.k.a. “Stan the Man”, the greatest St. Louis Cardinal to ever don a baseball jersey.  There are other theories, but I like this one.

Recently I suffered a minor cut to my hand while doing some home maintenance.  This injury, while minor, just so happened to be in a place prone to being squeezed in a hand shake.  It aggravated the injury, and me, upon a handshake.  I thought to myself, “How can I show a greeting or celebration in a manner similar to a handshake or a high-five? Aha, the fist bump!”

In my opinion the fist bump is here to stay, for the following reasons;

• safer than a handshake or high-five
• more hygienic
• looks cooler
• able to do with either hand
• more efficient
• invented by Stan Musial

Matthew Thompson is a family law attorney in Mississippi and had an epiphany regarding fist bumps after a recent minor injury due to routine home maintenance.  Matthew recommends that the fist bump be more commonly used and to wear gloves when doing routine home maintenance.

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