Friday, May 1, 2009

Walkin' the Walk, Italian Style



If you've been in Rome more than ten minutes, you've seen the characteristic strolling position of older Italian men: hands behind the back, slight lean forward. What's up? Anthropologists might argue that the walk has evolved in a safe, secure society in which older persons need not, and do not, think about having their hands available to ward off predators. Gerontologists would add that only the slow-walking elderly would assume the behind-the-back position, because only at low speeds is the walker unlikely to need his hands to break a fall.
Bill

1 comment:

  1. İt is a special gesture for standing or walking man living in Turkey, also.

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