Applaud Good

When someone does something good, applaud! You will make two people happy.

Samuel Goldwyn

The Atlantic has an article about “A Brief History of Applause ” which describes how the Roman emperor Heraclius in the seventh century wanted to intimidate some barbarian enemies. “So the emperor hired a group of men to augment his legions – but for purposes that were less military than they were musical. He hired the men to applaud.” Though scholars aren’t sure about the origins of applause, babies seem to do it instinctually, the Bible mentions it as part of acclamation and celebration, and gorillas do it to communicate danger (we think).

About the author

Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; August 27, 1882 (claimed but most likely July 1879) – January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor and executive of several motion picture studios in Hollywood. He was awarded the 1973 Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (1947) and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1958).