Andrew Hales and his sister Jacqueline made videos of hugging strangers at Venice Beach and in Rome. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it's can be very heartwarming. [via]
posted by quin on Jan 8, 2013 - 109 comments

RACCOON LOVES KITTY
posted by The Whelk on Jul 14, 2012 - 50 comments

For this generation of teens hugging [video | 02:35] seems to be all the rage at high schools around the U.S. “A measure of how rapidly the ritual is spreading is that some students complain of peer pressure to hug to fit in.” And in some schools hugging has banned. “Touching and physical contact is very dangerous territory,” said Noreen Hajinlian, the principal at a junior high school in Hillsdale, N.J., where hugging has been banned for two years.
posted by ericb on May 28, 2009 - 115 comments

5 year old girl forced to apologize for hugging classmate At issue is a hug Savannah said she got on the playground from a friend named Sophie. Savannah hugged Sophie back. The hugs resulted in Savannah having to write a letter, complete with teacher corrections, that read, "I touch Sophie because she touch me and I didn't like it because she was hugging me. I didn't like when she hugged me."
posted by bubblesonx on Apr 7, 2006 - 166 comments

It's official... Kids at Paddock Elementary School love hugging!!
posted by KLAX on Jan 15, 2002 - 5 comments