(20th Century Fox Television/Playback)
The act of clapping hands in approval has an unknown origin, but has been around for at least 3,000 years. At that time, the gesture was essentially religious, popularized in pagan rituals of different peoples as a noise intended to attract the attention of the gods. In classical Greek theatre, then, it became the way in which performers asked the audience to invoke the protective spirits of the arts. The custom reached the Roman Empire, where it became common in political speeches. Worried about the repercussions of his public appearances, Emperor Nero carried a cheerleading squad of more than 5,000 soldiers and knights.
From there, the custom spread to the rest of the world. In the 18th and 19th centuries, almost all theaters in Paris hired people who had only one function in the audience: to applaud. The trick is still used today by TV stations, especially in auditorium programs. Now, clapping to mark the rhythm of a song is probably a much older custom.
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