Genuine Question - Spontaneous Rounds of Applause

[AdobeWanKenobi]

Twice in as many days here I've seen people refer to the general public breaking out in rounds of applause.
I realise I don't get out much, but in forty something years I have never ever witnessed such like.

Does it really exist? Or is it just on MN?

YABU - Yes! I've witnessed spontaneous applause!

YANBU - No, I've never seen the like.

Love your username and your explanation for the voting

I can't vote on the app, but have been on a plane in a very pant-dirtying, bad weather landing and the pilot got one hell of a (very well deserved) round of applause

Yabu, it was during a professional update at work (NHS) and a colleague of mine went on a wonderful rant about the state of things and how pissed off we all were. We all stood up and applauded.

The only time I've ever seen this happen was on a train when an absolutely horrible, loud, aggressive man was wrestled off on to the platform by another passenger.

Yes, a couple of times when planes have landed, especially in bad weather!

And in restaurants when the waiter/watress has dropped something in a comedy manner. This happened to me as a teen, when I slipped, fell flat on my back, and flung my plate of fish in the air.

Nope - never!! (Although I don’t consider clapping when a plane lands safely spontaneous. I mean I don’t do it but I’ve been there when others have!)

Seen it several times. I got one for getting a hideous group of people thrown out of a Derren Brown show.

Only once when a particularly vile woman was arrested by a police officer at a protest. She was scum, nothing less, and had been spitting at police officers, desperately trying to provoke them so she could cry "look, look, they've got it in for me". Everyone within earshot applauded and cheered when they gave in and handcuffed her.

To be honest when I see “and then everyone in the room burst into a round of applause” I assume that the thread is total bollocks 🤷🏼‍♀️

Yes. Airplanes landing in frightening circumstances, cinema film re-starting after a technical issue, child being pulled out of river, pregnancy after long period trying, etc.

But also the mean kind of clapping with waitresses dropping stuff.

Every El Al flight I was ever on there was a round of applause on landing, it was the done thing.

Never happened on any other airline though, even after a difficult landing, or after coming in to land at Hong Kong airport where the runway was in the sea.

I wouldn't think of it as being spontaneous, just picked up from elsewhere.

However, I was out with a friend who burst into song in the street, which elicited a round of applause and cheering.

@SpuriouserAndSpuriouser my thoughts too but it seems this poll proves me wrong then

Happened at the cinema the other week when someone spoke to the family whose 2 year old hadn’t stopped shouting (SHOUTING, not just a bit of excitement and literally without pause) through the entire first half of the Lion King and the dad took her out.

I think it does happen but it’s rare, I’ve seen it when a waitress dropped a pint and a man walking by somehow caught it with minimal spillage! Everyone literally cheered!

But normally in threads I think ‘yeah sure ok’, particularly when it’s because the Op said something bold or noble. It seems to happen far more on the internet than in real life. I think in public even if there is someone standing up for an ‘injustice’ then people are more likely to chime in their support verbally (‘yes he’s right you shouldn’t do that’ etc) rather than burst into spontaneous applause and cheering. People are on the whole self conscious and don’t just start clapping and cheering on the street.

It is now my life's goal to do something that merits strangers bursting into spontaneous applause for me.