HANDSHAKES

It’s the widely seen act of greeting - the handshake. Furthermore, it has come to signify a bonding between individuals. Business people have had handshake business deals in which both parties were bonded to a stated verbal agreement.

More commonly, it kind of goes like this:

“Hey, you old so and so! Come on over here - I want to shake your hand.”
“A new baby? Let me shake your hand.”
“A promotion? Put ‘er there, pal!”

Of late, I’ve become rather put off by the act of shaking hands. This is not entirely because of cleanliness issues or health concerns, mind you. It has more to do with the nonsense of the whole thing. You see, I’ve done a bit of research into the origin of the handshake and am amazed at the history of this ritualistic behavior.

It all started as early as prehistoric times when one cave man would approach another cave man. Neither of these individuals wanted the other one to brandish a club, so upon seeing the other, each would raise his hand to show the other that he had no weapon in which to bludgeon the other one and subsequently steal his prize dead hyena that was destined for the dinner table.

Fast forward to the Middle Ages. The ritual of holding up one’s hand to show the absence of a weapon took on a new twist. Now, each individual has to shake hands with the other. The reason for this behavior is shocking. It’s because of distrust. By shaking the other individual’s hand, each could ascertain whether the other one was carrying a hidden weapon. Presumably, upon shaking hands, a knife, club or spear would fall from the other guy’s armpit thus giving away his evil intentions.

And this behavior continues after many generations of humans blindly following along.

Maybe I’m naive but I really don’t feel the need to shake loose a concealed weapon from an approaching individual.

I’m not the only one who feels this way. Fist bumps, elbow bumps and peace signs are gaining popularity as personal greetings. I’ve always been partial to the “Butt Bump” but I don’t see that becoming a mainstream greeting. Nonetheless, I’m excited to see how this whole thing “shakes out” over the next few years.


Readers, enjoy your day.