Shake on It

A Cultural Salute to National Handshake Day

If you’ve ever wondered whether the human experience can be distilled into a single gesture, look no further than the handshake. It’s brief, it’s awkward, and it can tell you way too much about your boss’s self-esteem. And yet, this simple palm-to-palm ritual—celebrated every year on the last Thursday in June as National Handshake Day—has a résumé longer than your average LinkedIn influencer’s About Me section.

Before you roll your eyes at yet another “National Something Day,” consider this: the handshake is older than sliced bread, capitalism, and even passive-aggressive email sign-offs. It’s been used to signal peace, seal billion-dollar deals, and ensure nobody’s hiding a dagger up their sleeve. Which, honestly, would be a pretty metal twist at your next corporate mixer.