Clemson Project Demonstrates the Power of a Hug

Would you hug 10 strangers for a Coke?

That was the challenge on the Clemson University campus as a trio of advertising students sought to create an Internet viral video as part of a class project, according to this Fox Carolina report.

Clemson juniors Katie Flack, Elisabeth Peters, and Anna Koker went into the project thinking it would turn out to be humorous; the project actually became a sweet testament to the human need for touch and acknowledgement, with many people willing to hug strangers regardless of the lure of an award for doing so.

"Letting other people know that they're cared about, just by a simple hug. They don't have to say anything to them, they don't have to sit down and have a conversation. If they just hug them, they know that somebody out there is caring about them," Flack told the station.

"That was cool to see that people actually really wanted a hug and were looking for that type of thing," added Peters.

Click the above video to see the students' work. To read and view the original Fox Carolina report, click here.