Monday, March 2, 2009

Free Hugs!


If you were lucky enough to be in downtown Toronto on February 8, 2009, you could have gotten a free hug. Tanya Neumeyer, her brother, Ian, and a few friends decided that it would be a good idea to carry around big signs and give free hugs to strangers.
"Even if somebody doesn't hug you, people smile and I think that's really the main thing, to brighten somebody's day," he said. "I kind of felt it would be awkward. But it's not awkward at all, it's so natural. I think people just want a connection and it's so easy to do this. People are so scared ... that a lot of people don't hug and that's a shame."(Article of Interest: "Free hug offer startles downtown shoppers" )
What the Star failed to report was that the hugs were originally on sale for $10. She got the the idea from a YouTube video, "Change the World for Ten Bucks":
"Neumeyer, 26, said she got the inspiration from a YouTube video and a group called We Are What We Do, which has a book called Change the World for Ten Bucks..."
Unfortunately, business was slow because people were too busy being productive members of society.

(Picture by Andrew Wallace/Toronto Star)