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
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 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")
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)
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Appendices
References
- DS9 episode: "Emissary"
- TOS novel: The Rift
- TOS - Unlimited comic: "Dying of the Light"
- TOS comic: "Planet Ecnal's Dilemma"
- TOS comic: "The Final Voyage"
- TNG novel: The Forgotten War
- DS9 novel: Trial by Error
- VOY - The Captain's Table novel: Fire Ship
- DS9 short story: "Barclay Program Nine"
- FASA RPG module: The Orions: Book of Common Knowledge
External links
- Handshake article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Handshake article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
