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Just 9 of the most painfully awkward handshakes in the history of broadcasting

It’s a minefield.

PEOPLE, ALLOW US  be the first to wish you a very Happy National Handshake Day on this; the final Thursday in June.

shutterstock_1022369200 Source: Shutterstock

Yeah, it’s weird, but so are all the National Holidays we insist on observing here at DailyEdge.

When you think about it, handshakes are relatively odd, but what’s more odd is the way in which we assess other people’s.

The practice, which dates back to 5th century BC, of grasping another individual’s hand and moving it up and down by way of greeting leaves all of us open to more scrutiny than one might expect in a two-second exchange.

Put it this way; no one wants to be accused of having a limp fish handshake.

Given the day that’s in it, and the fact we love nothing more than starting our morning with a little light toe-curling, here are some of the most memorable high-profile handshakes in recent years.

Memorable; for all the wrong reasons, of course.

1. When Barack pied Enda.

And Enda pretended he only wanted to check when the next mani was due.

enda

2. When Trump’s handshake seemed more like a threat than a greeting.

And didn’t care who saw.

trump handshake

3. When Shinzō  Abe just really wasn’t here for Trump’s extra-awkward hand-pat.

Don’t worry Shinzō, you got through it.

sinzo

4. When Donald Glover and Jimmy Fallon didn’t know where it was going…

…but were more than happy to hang in there until they made it.

donald

5. When these lads just didn’t want it to end.

Come on, off we go.

handshake5

6. We’re going to need you to focus on the background here.

Yep, you saw that.

hand

7. When the half bump/half shake finally becomes the full grasp.

Never give up.

hand5

8. When Ben Affleck revealed he thought handshakes started a lot higher up.

And John Kerry got him back on track.

affelck

9. And then there’s the handshake so awkward, neither party can bear to commit to it.

Moving on.

hands

 

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About the author:

Niamh McClelland

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