@Happystarr - It's starting to seem like something practically unheard of in most places, which is quite sad. We all tend to be too busy moving from point A to point B, or too unsure of ourselves and our place in the world to reach out to someone who looks down, fearing that we'll say or do the wrong thing by approaching them and talking. However, on the internet it's starting to become a tad more common in various ways. For example the site Mystery Missions (though it's falling apart a bit) is dedicated to giving things, hugs, and complements to random strangers in the interest of making them smile.

@Biggles - Course it's alright, I'll add it to the main post, in fact.