I cannot abide people who sit or stand too close to me; strangers, I mean. I am perfectly content being as close as possible to Mr Zebra, but we both share the same need for personal space between us and strangers.
Several years ago I was sitting in the waiting room of a doctor's surgery. I happened to be the only person in the waiting room, which consisted of two rows of plastic chairs I was sitting on the end chair of the front row. In walks a woman who gave her details to the receptionist then proceeded to sit... right next to me. Not on the five or six empty chairs further over, or the completely empty row behind, but
right next to me.
I mean,
why, for crying out loud? If she'd already been sitting there and I'd come in after, I would have probably sat on the exact opposite side of the empty row.
Of course, being British I was far too polite to get up and move to a different chair, but I spent the next several minutes sitting in complete uncomfortableness until I was called in to the doctor's room.
A good arm's length
at least between me and the next person, thank-you-very-much.