Apr 25, 2020 3 min read

The coronavirus pandemic is expected to create a new normal in society, and that’s bad news for one of civilization’s longest traditions.

The handshake.

This form of welcome, normally done with the right hand, goes back to 5 BC, appearing in archaeological ruins and on ancient texts in Greece.

Why the right hand?

Well, one reason is that most individuals are right-handed. Another was that the sanitary conditions were not the greatest back then and, hey, Charmin hasn’t been around forever. Enough said.

The handshake was done with the bare hand – spiked gloves were removed after battle so as not to cause an embarrassing accident with your enemy.

The shaking of the hands is believed to have been a way to make a gesture of peace and the up-and-down movements of the arms a way to show no weapons were hidden in one’s sleeve.

If, say, a dagger falls out, then peace talks were immediately called off.

Through the centuries, the handshake became a popular function of civilized society. Most children are taught at a young age how to shake hands. It begins as another form of the handshake greeting: the “High Five.” This is still a popular way to celebrate an accomplishment in sports, achieved when two raised arms slap hands. But be warned: Don’t miss or you could pull a muscle.

Actually, sports has been a harbinger of change for the handshake celebration. Not all of it was good. In May of 2010, Kendrys Morales, then with the Los Angeles Angels, hit a game-winning, walk-off grand slam and broke his leg when teammates waiting at home plate to do the “Home Plate Jump” piled on the poor fellow. The traditional celebration was changed the next day.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Oakland A’s Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire introduced the “Bash,” by slamming into each other’s forearms. It spawned a marketing campaign that was a takeoff on The Blues Brothers. When people discovered the pain factor of doing the “Bash” and that it exposed their arm flab, that type of celebration went away.

Some countries have really interesting handshake traditions: My favorites:

In some areas of Africa, handshakes are continually held to show that the conversation is between the two people talking. If they are not shaking hands, others are permitted to enter the conversation. If not, beat it, bub.

In Liberia, the snap handshake is customary in which the two shakers snap their fingers against each other at the conclusion of the handshake. Americans save the finger snap for getting someone’s attention or punctuating a thought.

The fist pump can be a confusing greeting if the other person doesn’t realize it’s coming and greets your fist with his or her open hand. Then it becomes a game of “Rock, Paper, Scissors” and paper covers rock.

As usual, Europeans got the greeting thing down pat with the cheek kiss instead of a handshake. In a cheek kiss, both persons lean forward and either lightly touch cheek to cheek or lip to cheek. Generally the gesture is repeated with the other cheek, or more, alternating cheeks.

This pandemic has forced a lot of changes. Some will return, but it’s probably thumbs down for the handshake.

Joe Tuscano can be reached jtuscano@observer-reporter.com/.