How do you decide when to start clapping after a virtuoso performance? And when do you stop? Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. New ...

Hand clapping is ubiquitous behavior for humans across time and cultures, serving many different purposes: to signify approval with applause, for instance, or to keep time to music. Acousticians often ...

Students at the University of Oxford will now use jazz hands instead of applause as a way to be more inclusive of students who have sensory or anxiety disorders that may become uneasy by the noise ...

In a scene toward the end of the 2006 film, "X-Men: The Last Stand," a character claps and sends a shock wave that knocks out an opposing army. Sunny Jung, professor of biological and environmental ...

This post is co-authored by Ron Riggio and nonverbal communication expert Alan Crawley. When and why do we clap? We get startled, and we clap. We try to get our dog’s (or our child’s) attention, and ...

The highlight of my day — every day — is opening my window and yelling at the sky. By Amanda Hess Every night at 7, my Brooklyn neighborhood comes to life with the calculated whimsy of a cuckoo clock.