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 ...

Applause is greatly revered as a symbol of warmth and adoration from a crowd. TV shows that film in front of a live audience often cue their audiences to clap in order to generate the desired auditory ...

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 ...