Member-only story
Jane Fonda’s Boots
The six-handshake rule operates with the precision of a Swiss watch — that was probably formerly owned by a celebrity
Non-members can read this story via a friend link
Six degrees of separation is the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. As a result, a chain of “friend of a friend” statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps. It is also known as the six handshakes rule.
A friend of mine had a big crush on Kevin Spacey, went to the movies to see all his movies, then bought DVDs, definitely licensed. Apparently so that the royalties from her purchases would go into Spacey’s pocket and he wouldn’t go bankrupt. She had always dreamed of seeing him with her own eyes and getting his autograph. Obviously, the chances of seeing Spacey for someone living in Siberia were zero. Some five years later, fate had it that she moved to England. And then, imagine Spacey comes to London with his play “Richard III,” where he is in the title role. She got an autograph after the show; she didn’t even need those five or six people to reach Spacey. And the funny thing is, she didn’t even like him during that minute of interaction. She found him somewhat arrogant towards his fans.