Where does the high five come from?

The high five, slapping raised open palms together in celebration, is a surprisingly recent gesture. The best-known origin story places it on 2 October 1977, when Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Dusty Baker hit a home run and his teammate Glenn Burke raised a hand over his head to greet him; Baker slapped it, and the high five was born. Burke went on to use it regularly, and it spread through sport and then everyday life during the 1980s. Others credit college basketball players of around the same era, such as the Louisville Cardinals. Whatever the exact first instance, the gesture grew out of the older 'low five', a palm slap down low that had been part of African American culture since at least the mid-20th century.