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A handshake.

A handshake.

The handshake was a popular physical greeting on Earth between Humans.

Specifics

The custom began in Europe as a way to show that both parties had no weapons in their dominant hand. (VOY - The Captain's Table novel: Fire Ship)

Starfleet Academy asked that officers not shake hands with other species. The handshake was an obscene gesture on at least five planets, and a declaration of war on another. (TOS novel: The Rift)

Handshakes are uncomfortable, and hugs excruciatingly painful, for Grey Orions, who are sensitive to feeling pressure against their bodies. (FASA RPG module: The Orions: Book of Common Knowledge)

Ferengi like Balt did not like the Human handshake. (DS9 short story: "Barclay Program Nine")

Omians briefly brush fingertips with their fellows. In 2374, the behavior reminded Kathryn Janeway of a handshake. (VOY - The Captain's Table novel: Fire Ship)

History

Handshake of and .

Handshake of Kirk and S'alath.

In 1975, Russian commander Alexey Leonov shook hands with NASA commander Thomas Stafford in the docking collar between their ships in the Apollo-Soyuz mission, the first joint American/Soviet space mission. (ST reference: Spaceflight Chronology)

In 1999 after a dinner on Earth, a time traveling Spock and Q shook hands, but the contact inadvertently swapped their personalities. (ST audiobook: Spock vs. Q: The Sequel)

In 2266, the commander of a Lerow rocket shook hands with James T. Kirk after the captain gave him an energy converter to save the Lerow homeworld from debilitating acid rains. (TOS comic: "Planet Ecnal's Dilemma")

In 2270, Kirk shook hands with Gorn captain S'alath. As a result, Kirk broke two fingers and suffered a fractured wrist, but it was worth it to Kirk. He was pleased that it resolved a diplomatic crisis and might lead to better relations. (TOS - Unlimited comic: "Dying of the Light")

United States President George Washington did not like handshakes, as he'd been overly backslapped and handled during his era, usually responding with a characteristic icy stare. When Yarnek took the form of Washington while visiting the Enterprise in 2270, Kirk respected the former president's personal preferences and did not try to shake his hand. (TOS novel: Savage Trade)

In 2367 Captain Jean-Luc Picard had to refrain from trying to shake hands with the Tarn observer Harna Karish. The ritual of shaking hands is seen as an aggressive move by a Tarn too close to a foe. Instead the Tarn uses the Harma greeting. (TNG novel: The Forgotten War)

When Picard met with Benjamin Sisko after Sisko's encounter with the Prophets, Picard and Sisko shook hands. (DS9 episode: "Emissary")

When Flenn met Sisko, Flenn was intrigued by the notion of a handshake, realising the purpose behind it was to check if the other person had a weapon of some kind. (DS9 novel: Trial by Error)

Simulations

In one of Badgey's holodeck programs forced upon imprisoned crew of the USS Cerritos in 2381, numerous diplomats boarded the USS Cerritos for conference deliberations. A spy took advantage of all the handshaking to topically apply a poison and infect Captain Carol Freeman. (LD video game: The Badgey Directive episode: "Diplobabble")

Appendices

References

External links