No one believes me. They are having "cuddling parties" across America.. Perhaps it's the bad economic news.. Maybe the lack of real love and an overload of computers across the world? Perhaps, in the end, people just .. want to cuddle up and touch another human being? But it's very real. And very cuddly..

"It's a human need," said Weinstein-Moser, 49, of Dublin, Bucks County, who introduced the phenomenon to the region last fall. She was smitten after attending her first in 2005, where she discovered she was a natural. Now a certified cuddle facilitator (training price tag: $1,490), Weinstein-Moser throws parties as far as Maryland and North Jersey. It costs $40 to attend

$40 per person!? Where do I learn this!?

Cuddle Parties do not claim to offer therapy or even massage, but do tout the benefits of tactile contact. Not everyone, though, is convinced that what happens at the hugfests can deliver health benefits. The American Massage Therapy Association has little love for Cuddle Parties. "We really have no idea if there's any value in the kind of massage they provide at these things," said Ron Precht, communications manager for the Chicago-area group

I'm not sold on this. As a matter or fact, it's plain out creepy to me. A 50 year old man .. cuddled up next to me rubbing my shoulders.. as i cuddle the back of someone in front of me.. And combined the three of us paying $120 bucks.. Not my version of a fun Saturday night. And plain weird..

Labels: Odd, Offbeat, personal