Honestly, I can relate to the first couple of panels: at my recent high school reunion, I really didn’t know what do with the women.
Hell, I didn’t know what to do 45 years ago, why would I know any better now?
Anyway, the last two panels were a total mystery.
Comics I Don't Understand 
I thought this was pretty funny. He was stressed trying to figure out if it was supposed to be a handshake or a hug, because it would be awkward if he got it wrong. But he didn’t just got it wrong, he got it really, really wrong. It was supposed to be a “spit to the side” greeting, which made going for the hug incredibly awkward.
I think the nervous guy manages to hit the other one in the head as he spreads his arms for the hug. Hence the “smack”.
My thoughts matched Sili’s.
Sili/Arthur, that makes a lot more sense. Except my (mis)interpretation made me laugh, so I’m sticking to it.
Has that spit-to-the-side culture been written up much? 🤤
Sili…. But bad perspective on the drawing. It’s the spreading of the arms that inadvertent smacks the guy in the face. Final panel is a cold sweat in the realization he really screwed up.
Altough the side spit is surreal and silly that that’s pretty funny too.
I thought he was sneezing rather than spitting.
The custom in France is to exchange kisses on alternate cheeks. The problem there is that the number of kisses varies by region (usually 2 or 3, sometimes 4), so that if one meets a person from somewhere else, it may happen that one person will be left hanging with an extended, but unrequited cheek.
@Kilby Not just France. Austria, Italy and Poland do it too. It’s not just the number, but also which cheek is first. That can cause real problems, not too far from what’s in this comic (just with a headbutt rather than a slap).
And we have to be careful with glasses.
Yep — guy #1, unsure of what to do, spread his arms out for a hug in exactly the wrong way, and backhanded guy #2 across the face so hard that spittle fell out of the guy #2’s mouth. Guy #1, therefore, sweats profusely in embarrassment, shame, and fear.
If you instinctively read Panel 3 as intended, guy #1 backhanding guy #2, the whole thing is pretty funny. If you read Panel 3 any other way, it seems like it would be incomprehensible. The issue is whether your visual cartoon language includes “spittle flying to the side” as a pretty standard code for “being slapped in the face”. Mine does. I suppose… this depends on whether “people being slapped in the face” is a common enough event in the comics you read in order to require a standardized shorthand.
Interjecting an editorial rant here: I am SO SICK of seeing men spitting on sidewalks, grass, driveways, etc., etc. Is this becoming a ‘normal’ thing these days, or am I just hanging out in the wrong places??
It used to be a normal thing in the past (see spittoons in cowboys movies). I remember reading about health campaigns around WWI in order to curb TB. I’ve noticed the spitting increase for at least 20 years. Women do it too, these days.
@ Andréa – I think the problem used to be more prevalent than it is today, but thankfully chewing tobacco is no longer as popular as it was in the last century. I once heard (or read) that there used to be a street sign (similar to “No Loitering“) that said “Curb Your Spit” (in other words, if you have to spit, please do it in the gutter, not on the sidewalk), but I can’t confirm that via an Internet search.
P.S. You should be thankful that the problem is just “spit” (and not “urination”).
I agree with Sili. I think it would have been clearer if there had been a panel where nervous guy had his hand extended for a handshake, then abruptly spread his arms for the hug, resulting in the backhand.
“P.S. You should be thankful that the problem is just “spit” (and not “urination”).”
The problem with spit is that it can contain infectious diseases. Back in the days when vaccination was rare and antibiotics hadn’t been invented yet, that was a bigger concern. (Note that this is not specific to chewing tobacco spit, either.)
Nowadays, it’s just gross, not dangerous, so a lot of people don’t have the same concerns about it.
I see it as they were getting ready to hug and our hero accidentally smacked the other upside the head. That would be awkward.
On the spitting, my cringe is all the spitting onto the artificial turf at sports stadiums. That is like spitting onto your carpet in your home. When I was a teen, I knew a couple of brothers that would spit on their home carpet constantly. (when their parents weren’t around) That could be where I picked that up, it was gross. At least the open air stadiums get rained on once in awhile and can be washed down as they have a drainage system, not sure how the closed ones handle it.
To be honest I (a man) used to disapprove but now do it – only when I am super phlegmy, and only on non-privately owned grass, but I do. Probably I prefer to do it in privacy, but I don’t think I have a rule about it. I guess I just figure the grass has seen worse. But maybe I am in the wrong; I welcome correction.
“not sure how the closed ones handle it.”
Spilled beer washes it off.
If you expect to rate as a gentleman, you will not expectorate on the floor.
Public urination is, while not exactly encouraged, somewhat acceptable in Japan. Particularly in the bar districts and usually late at night or in the wee (see what I did there?) hours of morning. However, I did once see a guy watering the bushes in the middle of downtown in front of a doughnut shop in broad daylight. Spitting doesn’t seem as horrible now.
My problem with the cartoon is the position of #1’s arms: why would you lift your arms above shoulder level (thus possibly striking your friend in the head) if you are anticipating a hug?
When I was in Amsterdam, there were public urinals you could use in the street.
“On a New York subway you get fined for spitting, but you can throw up for nothing.”
― Lewis Grizzard
Was there a handwashing station? I am also a bit curious about what the 🚹 symbols on the sides are anticipating…
Cream of Wheat: I never saw handwashing stations next to them. I guess the symbol just means “person,” or maybe “man,” in case a passerby isn’t clear what they’re for.
My last time in A’dam was 1980 and I never saw these (thankfully). I guess urinating into the canals was getting too dangerous? Why am I even THINKING about this at 2 a.m.??? This thread has definitely drifted into EWW! territory.
There are female-specific public urinals as well, hence the symbol. Those ones in the photo are not cool, though.
I’ve seen “No spitting” signs, in some variant phrasing, but never with the “Curb” that Kilby mentions.
“Curb your dog” is of course quite familiar. Since the verb “curb” has a main sense of “restrain, control” , I couldn’t figure out why some were inventing the additional meaning of “keep it near the street’s curb”.
Nowadays we have “pick up after your dog” which might seem to obviate concerns about the placement. But speaking as the pedestrian coming along in a minute, since your cleanup is not going to be residue-free, it would be best if you could indeed still curb your dog, in either sense.
@ Mitch4 – It seems likely that I may simply have conflated the two signs. It would not be the first time that my memory was not in accordance with the facts.
. . . and . . .
I see New Yorkers take their pizza so seriously they take it into the toilet. That’s much more disgusting than pineapple on a pizza.
Also, the sign on the New York one said it was non-functional and not to use it. So total bait and switch.
Do you know why hardware stores now have the toilet models for sale on a raised display? Because if you just set them at floor level…
Yes. Oh, yes they do. I heard this from the guy who had to clean it up.
“Yes. Oh, yes they do.”
Yeah. On the ones that are on the raised pedestal, with no privacy, and obviously no plumbing.
Has this been shared as a synchro yet?
I was never a big hugger (except of immediate family) but put up with it at the few events we went to and the few friends who do so. Since we had bed bugs – it is overwhelming to hug anyone but Robert. I have learned at events to keep my back to the wall and have my hands ready to grab any arms coming at me, hold the person by both hands and swing the hands back and forth a bit. Seems to work well.
We had a family in our reenacting unit and the father was kisser and was teaching his teenage son to be one also (and the son was not happy about it). Now, in relation to the world and its goings on today, I never considered these kisses to be sexual or sexually abusive – just not appropriate as a greeting. (For unrelated, unknown reasons, they stopped being members.)