What's In A Handshake? President Trump And Chancellor Merkel

Yes, there's more to the handshake than meets the eye (err...hand, that is).

As most of us know, our hands are in contact with myriad things as we go about our daily lives. 

We don't think too much about it, but our hands become very effective "sharing tools" for some of the tiniest organisms, as we interact with each other, often shaking hands, thereby spreading those organisms about.


So, those organisms, being smart, simply hitch rides on our hands and transfer between individuals and do their things (whatever those things are - very diversified)...and we are 'none-the-wiser' for it, mostly.

We come down with a cold...we rarely think we might have caught the germ responsible for it by shaking hands with someone, but that could very likely be the case. 

And that's just a cold. Not to belittle the power of a nasty cold, but the point is that we also can spread some other, even nastier germs, viruses, and bacteria between ourselves through simple handshakes.

Perhaps this is one of Mother Nature's tools for keeping balance(?). Hmmm...dunno...seems odd, but who knows, right? Balance is necessary, of course.


Some variations on the traditional handshake include gestures such as the "fistbump", "dap greeting", and "Namaste". In addition, some special 'societies' or clubs establish "secret handshakes", the gestures of which are known only to 'members'.

Now that we've discussed a measure of "what's in a handshake", I must say that the issue that came out of President Trump and Chancellor Merkel's photo-op because of a perceived "refusal" to shake hands seems rather 'lame', and I, for one, believe President Trump when he says he was unaware.

I also believe I should learn to pay closer attention to the "meat of the matter", and not the unnecessary "fluffy stuff" that just makes for good controversy and finger-pointing, y'know?

Just sayin'...


P.S. - Because I still didn't really know what the main reason for the meeting was, I looked into it a little.

According to a Fortune.com article before the meeting took place, the meeting was to cover five important topics, including trade, immigration, climate-change, foreign policy, and defense.

According to a CNN.com article after it took place, the meeting was termed "frosty". Discussions touched on Germany's defense spending, and President Trump allegedly told Chancellor Merkel that

'Germany owed vast sums to NATO and the U.S.'

This article also refers to some of President Trump's 'tweets' on Twitter™, where he wrote:

"Despite what you have heard from the FAKE NEWS, I had a GREAT meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel".

And:

"Nevertheless, Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!"

Surely, there was much more to the meeting, but I think I've "just said" enough for now.

Just sayin'...