12 thoughts on “The Handshake”

  2. I remember when wearing a hat on top of your head was considered mandatory. Times and customs change…

  3. What will ex-Marines, like my deceased uncle, do if they cannot crush your hand? When I was younger I had a reputation for cold hands. I once pulled a gag on a friend with what I called ‘the cadaver handshake.’ Way beyond limp. The initial expression on his face was priceless. I think I got the original idea from either Harpo Marx or Red Skelton….

    1. I’ve been led to believe that there are no EX Marines. They just change their duty station.

  4. “I for one would not miss it. It has caused [the loss of] countless hours of productivity and lives. We should have abandoned it decades ago.”

    Then you are utterly unaware of the social and human interaction benefits of a handshake.

    I’ll give you an example – one of many:

    I was shoveling the snow out of the driveway after a particularly hard snowfall. The plow berm was immense.

    A neighbor from a few houses down the street drives by in his pick up (with blade) and stops to say hi. First thing I do was take off my glove and stick my hand out to shake his hand.

    it’s an odd small town I live in where the descendants of original settlers of the 1600’s – of which my neighbor is one – stay pretty much among themselves and don’t socialize with outsiders like myself..

    Anyhow he asks me if I’d like him to plow the berm. I replied, “Only if you let me pay you.”

    His reply, “You just did” (meaning the handshake).

    Like many things a handshake can be socially perfunctory. But in the right circumstances it’s not.

    My best friend and I shake hands every time we see each other.

    The associate director of where I work shook hands with me one day just as he was walking by. This mattered.

    There’s unutterable power, communication and connection with handshakes in the right circumstances. I fear you’ve never experienced that.

  5. Before getting rid of the handshake you should ask how the custom started. The handshake was to show the other person that your hand was empty, and not holding a knife or dagger. If we get rid of the custom, we’ll likely go back to stabbing people in meetings.

    1. Maybe we should take up an alternative pioneered by dogs instead? I remember meetings where that would have been appropriate for some of the participants.

      1. Raoul, you may be on to something here. That would make it much easier to spot the one who is in charge.

  6. In passing, I’ll note that I know a couple of petite female scientists who DETEST handshakes. It’s easy for big guys like me to crush them unintentionally. Especially if I’m meeting a bunch of people at once and don’t take time to modulate the pressure for each individual.

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