5. The "you got the job" handshake
Few acts can validate a person's best hopes and dreams like the firm handshake an employer offers when hiring an applicant.
Simply put, this is a very personal, and truly great handshake that everyone in a modern economy should have at least once in their life.
4. US President William McKinley's signature handshake
During William McKinley's tenure as president he developed a specific handshake known as "McKinley Grip."
He would warmly greet each recipient and offer his right hand, give a firm pump, and then quickly yank his hand away before the other party could reciprocate.
All the while, his left hand would clasp the person's elbow, and give them a friendly but vigorous shake.
The McKinley grip was ideal for greeting the thousands of Americans he would meet face to face during his tragically short tenure as president.
As fate would have it, on September 6, 1901, a man approached McKinley for a routine handshake, McKinley noticed the man's right hand was bandaged and quickly offered his left hand to compensate.
At that time the man drew a pistol and shot the president. Within a few days McKinley died of the gunshot wound sustained while offering up his signature handshake.
3. Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, and Jimmy Carter engage in a three way handshake to mark the end of the signing of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty.
Few handshakes in recorded history better display the gesture's ability to express respect and agreement than this rare three way shake between world leaders.
This handshake came after 12 days of intense negotiation that would later become known as the Camp David Accords.
The rift between Israel and the Arab world continues to cause violence and turmoil today, but this handshake marks a high point for diplomacy and peace in the middle east.
2. The Elbe Day handshake.
On April 25, 1945, Soviet troops marching west from Russia, and US troops marching East through the European continent met along the Elbe River, near Torgau in Germany.
The meeting meant that the two geographically distinct fronts effectively defeated Hitler's Nazi army.
This moment was one of the all-time bright spots in US-Russia relations, and was commemorated in a natural, fitting way, that hardly even needed to be discussed by either side— a handshake.
1. The predator handshake
Despite being between two fictional characters, the strong temptation when writing this list was to simply list this handshake five times.
This handshake between two 80s icons in their prime transcends the concept of physical embrace entirely. Indeed, outside of the film in which this handshake takes place, "Predator," this handshake has taken on a life of its own as a meme.
"Dillon, you son of a b****" Schwarzenegger says as he approaches his old pal with a formidable confidence. They move towards each other and swing at the hips as if to trade thunderous blows, but instead they channel that violence into the best hand shake of all time.
The tension between Carl Weathers and Arnold Schwarzenegger's sweaty forearms is utterly palpable to the viewer as they become lost in the simple act of shaking hands.
Only two titans in top form could exchange such a meaningful locking of the digits. It is easy to imagine this shake would crush the hand of a lesser person.
Bonus: To see exactly what not to do when engaging in a handshake, watch this classic, yet overlooked, clip from "Ghostbusters II."
http://www.youtube.com/embed/OHjMyGTuSY4
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For your own sake, please avoid these types of handshakes.
Make sure your hand is dry, make eye contact, lay the webbing of your thumb over the back of the other person's hand, and try to seem interested in the other person.
