Snuggles?

frotteur - someone who gets his or her kicks by pressing against others in crowds.

What history has brought this about? Initial thought might be a sad history but need it be? (Being a pusher for the Tokyo subway system might be their ideal job :-)

Or are they perhaps not human? What could they be taking from the strangers they press up against?

Inspired by the compilation in Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words by Josefa Heiffetz Byrne. (Her definition is a bit, um, broader than the official definition! ;-) But let's leave it at that since it opens up a whole lot more possibilities ;-)