“But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table ....Then they began to ask one another, which one of them it could be who would do this.”

This professor revealed to me, the other day, the rather seedy etiology of two human activities which I had heretofore considered congenial. Why do we shake hands when we meet? A show of friendliness and warmth? Not so. The handshake originated in Europe, the Middle Ages. Men shook hands when they met (women did not) as a means of checking one another for concealed weapons.

The ritual clinking of glasses that follows a toast at the dinner table? Well, after checking out one another for concealed weapons, men would gather at the table. But before they ate, they clinked their glasses under the agreement to pour a bit of wine into on…