Hugging is like yawning… it’s contagious!

January 23rd, 2008 · No Comments

Bears hug

If you saw a random person on the street holding up a sign that read ”Free Hugs” would you do it? Well Juan Mann did exactly this after he returned to Sidney with nothing more than a bag of clothes. Read below to see how it worked out.

From the website:

How it all started:

I’d been living in London when my world turned upside down and I’d had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles. No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.

Standing there in the arrivals terminal, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me.

So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign. I found the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city and held that sign aloft, with the words “Free Hugs” on both sides.

And for 15 minutes, people just stared right through me. The first person who stopped, tapped me on the shoulder and told me how her dog had just died that morning. How that morning had been the one year anniversary of her only daughter dying in a car accident. How what she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. I got down on one knee, we put our arms around each other and when we parted, she was smiling.

Everyone has problems and for sure mine haven’t compared. But to see someone who was once frowning, smile even for a moment, is worth it every time.

His idea caught on pretty and many people decided to participate. At one point the police told him he could not longer continue giving free hugs. In response, Juan got 10,000 signatures from random people and quite a bit of media attention (he was even on Oprah).

Make sure to watch the video w/ sound. It brought a smile to my face. Hopefully it does to you to (unless you’re heartless).

Sick Puppies - All the Same (Free Hugs Campaign)