The crowd at the city council meeting did not protest when the mayor asked that they refrain from booing or cheering as she invited the public to speak on any topic. But no clapping? “A violation of ...

If wordlessly clapping your hands to make as much noise as possible feels like a rather primitive thing to do, you’d be quite right. It’s thought that the origins of applause lie far, far back in the ...

Anyone who frequently travels by air will at one point or another have witnessed the strange ritual which some passengers take part in as soon as the plane’s wheels hit the tarmac. Whether out of ...

At 10 a.m. Eastern time on August 16, 2026, several billion people are being asked to do something almost comically small: raise their hands and clap, just once, for exactly one second. The organizers ...

It's such a natural reaction to something impressive or joyous that you might never have thought to question it. But why do we show our appreciation, approval, or even happiness by noisily clapping ...