Dab A group of teens dabbing. Genre Hip-hop Year Mid-to-late 2010s 
 
 Dabbing, or the dab, is a simple dance move or gesture in which a person drops the head into the bent crook of a slanted, upwardly angled arm, while raising the opposite arm out straight in a parallel direction. Since 2015, dabbing has been used as a gesture of triumph or playfulness, becoming a youthful American fad and Internet meme.[1] The move looks similar to someone sneezing into the "inside" of their elbow.[1][2] 
 
 Origin 
 
 The dab has its origins in the Atlanta hip-hop scene in the 2010s, but there was initially disagreement about who originated the dance.[3] Artists initially mentioned as possible originators of the name of the dance include Migos (as in "Look at My Dab"), Skippa Da Flippa, Peewee Longway, Jose Guapo and Rich the Kid.[4] QC labelmate OG Maco called out Migos for saying they were the creators when it was actually Skippa Da Flippa. The controversy was cleared up when Migos confirmed Skippa as the originator of the dance, though they were unhappy with the way Maco handled the situation.[5]. The dance evolved throughout Summer 2014 [6]. 
 
 American rapper Bow Wow attempted to explain the origin of the dab dance, saying it derived from the cannabis dabbers community, which started in about 2012, before the dance move. He was met with opposition from other rappers who immediately took to Twitter to insult him and disprove his claims.[7] 
 
 The music video for "Shake It" by Metro Station, released in 2009, shows a person doing what appears to be a dab.[8] 
 
 Popularity 
 
 As XXL magazine reported in August 2015, "What started as a regional down South adlib is quickly becoming a masterful maneuver in clubs and on street corners. It’s called dabbin’."[9] Jason Derulo taught James Corden how to dab during the November 4, 2015 edition of "Carpool Karaoke" on The Late Late Show with James Corden.[10] 
 
 The dab gained popularity in American sports following an eight-second celebratory dab by Cam Newton, football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League, during a game against the Tennessee Titans on November 15, 2015.[11][12] According to a Sports Illustrated account of the incident, "[w]hen two Titans players confronted [Newton] about the celebration, he continued to dance in their faces, even as he backed away."[1] Newton explained the incident by crediting a 16-year-old for instructing him to "Dab on them folks": 
 
 I'm a firm believer that if you don't like me to do it then don't let me in ... I just like doing it, man. It's not to be boastful, and from the crowd's response they like seeing it. ... Tell me what to do "Dab on them folks," so I tried "Dab on them folks," in that tone too. "Dab on them folks." He's only like 16, but he's got an Adam's apple out of this world.[13] 
 
 It was later confirmed that the 16-year-old was Newton's younger brother Caylin.[14] On June 9, 2016, Cam Newton announced that he would no longer perform the celebration. However, he dabbed again on November 13, 2016 after a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs, nearly a year after his initial dab against the Titans.[15] 
 
 Dabbing has made its appearance in politics, as well. In January 2016, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton dabbed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. In October 2016, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez dabbed at the end of a Senate debate against Attorney General Kamala Harris.[16][17][18] On January 3, 2017, Cal Marshall, 17-year-old son of Rep. Roger Marshall (R-Kan), dabbed at his father's swearing in as a Congressman, confusing House Speaker Paul Ryan.[19] On February 22, 2017, Deputy Labour Leader Tom Watson dabbed in the UK's House of Commons.[20] French presidential candidates Emmanuel Macron,[21] Benoît Hamon and François Fillon dabbed on TV in March 2017. In May 2017, Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway dabbed at the Royal Palace in Oslo during his grandparents' King Harald V and Queen Sonja's official appearance for their 80th birthday.[22] In October 2017, Australian Labor Party leader Bill Shorten dabbed as part of a "diss track" criticising members of the Liberal Party.[23] He later alluded to the dab's infamy, stating that his children had been "humiliated" by it.[24] 
 
 In January 2017, an Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja dabbed in celebration of his half-century scored in a Test match against Pakistan in Sydney. His move received mixed reactions, with some praising it while others accused him of disrespecting his opponents.[25] 
 
 In February 2017, the president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, invited a dance group to State House to perform the dab dance move with him.[26] The president was doing the dab dance in a bid to appeal to the youthful population of Kenya to come out and register as voters. Some critics found this move to be in bad taste since there were other pressing issues like the doctors and lecturers strike that the president ought to have been dealing with rather than dancing.[27] 
 
 Today, the dab is both a dance move and a statement. The culture behind it has been propagated by celebrity use and memes. Many dancers incorporate the move in their repertoire as a minor addition to a set. Whether in the beginning, middle, or end of a set, a dab is usually used to mark a drop. In Korean pop music (K-pop) some South Koreans adopted the move,[28] along with Whip and Nae Nae.[29] 
 
 Manchester United footballers Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard also popularised the dab by performing the dance as their goal celebration.[30] Wrestler T.J. Perkins often uses the move as a taunt or a sign of disrespect after a headstand headscissors takedown.[citation needed] 
 
 Illegality in Saudi Arabia 
 
 In Saudi Arabia, the move was made illegal by the National Committee for Drug Control as it was deemed that it alludes to cannabis and other illegal substances. In August 2017, Saudi singer and actor Abdallah Al Shaharani was arrested for performing the move at a music festival in Ta'if, and afterward apologised in a tweet.[31][32] In January 2018 a Saudi footballer was criticized on social media for performing the move during a match.[33] 
 
 See also ||||| A U.S. Senate Candidate Just Dabbed At The End Of A Debate 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Mark J. Terrill/AP Mark J. Terrill/AP 
 
 California has its first open U.S. Senate seat in 24 years. And on Wednesday night, the only debate for the race ended unexpectedly when candidate Loretta Sanchez capped off her closing remarks with what appeared to be a dab. 
 
 The two Democrats vying for the Senate spot, California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Sanchez, a representative for California's 46th congressional district, were held to time constraints by the debate's moderator. When it was time for Sanchez to wrap up, she kept talking over the moderator until she struck a final pose: stretching one arm out to the side and lowering her head into the crook of her elbow. 
 
 Did Loretta Sanchez #dab at end of Senate debate with Kamala Harris? What do you think? @NBCLA pic.twitter.com/YeAb0zYWsj — Adrian Arambulo (@AdrianNBCLA) October 6, 2016 
 
 Californians watching at home only saw Harris reacting to the strange pose from her opponent. She raised her eyebrows and pressed her lips tightly together before saying, with a laugh, "So, there's a clear difference between the candidates in this race." 
 
 Harris is the front-runner in the Senate race, with endorsements from President Obama, the state's Democratic party and California Gov. Jerry Brown. 
 
 YouTube 
 
 But back to that so-called dab: Non-millennials, gather 'round. It's time for Dab 101. The pose Sanchez appeared to do is a dance move — called the dab — where the dancer, head lowered, has one arm outstretched and the other bent inward. 
 
 Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton made the move famous last year after he starting dabbing as his touchdown celebration. See exhibit A: 
 
 Cam just dabbing pic.twitter.com/kSXO58BVwc — CJ Fogler (@cjzero) October 18, 2015 
 
 The dance has its roots in Atlanta hip-hop culture, specifically with the group Migos and their 2015 song, "Look at My Dab." Despite some claims otherwise, it's not related to drug culture (dabs also refer to concentrated doses of cannabis). 
 
 After Newton adopted the move, the dab went full mainstream, where some say it promptly became uncool. 
 
 This isn't the first time the dab has made an appearance on the political stage. In January, Hillary Clinton learned the move on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. 
 
 YouTube 
 
 If the dab wasn't officially dead then, it certainly died last night, when Sanchez shoveled the last bit of dirt onto its freshly dug grave. At the very least, it had California residents and beyond commenting on the overall strangeness of the 2016 election cycle and the choices made by some of this year's candidates. ||||| CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share After their Super Bowl 50 defeat, Lorenzo Reyes discusses what the future holds for the Carolina Panthers. USA TODAY Sports 
 
 Broncos outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware grabs a fumble ahead of Panthers quarterback Cam Newton during the fourth quarter. (Photo: Richard Mackson, USA TODAY Sports) 
 
 SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After it was all over, Panthers defensive end Ryan Delaire walked over to the stalls of Jerricho Cotchery and Ted Ginn Jr. to console them. He was there to offer support. 
 
 He shook their hands, brought them in and whispered words of encouragement. 
 
 The Panthers let one slip through their fingers. Literally. 
 
 Dropped passes, two fumbles, a pushed 44-yard field goal that caromed off the upright, penalties – when Carolina looks back on the reasons why it lost Super Bowl 50, 24-10, the team’s mistakes will keep them pondering on the long flight home back to Charlotte. 
 
 "We kind of beat ourselves in all phases of the game. False starts. Penalties. Special teams plays," said Panthers wide receiver Devin Funchess. "It was uncharacteristic for us." 
 
 The mistakes started early, but it was the last one that punctuated the end of Carolina’s dream season – one that saw the team rip off victories in 17 of their first 18 games, saw quarterback Cam Newton win the league’s most valuable player and offensive player of the year award. 
 
 The stage was set for Newton to shine, for him to confirm his position among the NFL’s top quarterbacks. 
 
 Carolina, down six points, had the ball with 4:28 to play, 76 yards away from a championship. 
 
 But Broncos defensive end Von Miller, who had terrorized Carolina’s normally-formidable offensive line all game long added to his highlight reel with a strip of Newton that gave the Broncos the ball. 
 
 Five plays later, Denver running back C.J. Anderson punched the ball into the end zone, effectively ending the game. 
 
 Miller was an issue Carolina simply didn’t have an answer for. 
 
 Mid-way through the first quarter, with the ball pinned deep in Carolina territory, Newton took the shotgun snap before Miller surged off the line, popped Panthers right tackle Mike Remmers in the chest with his hands, and was set to take Newton down for the sack. 
 
 But in the split second before Miller made contact, he stripped the ball away, allowing defensive end Malik Jackson to recover the ball in the end zone for the touchdown. 
 
 "We fumbled the ball when we really haven't fumbled the ball," said coach Ron Rivera. 
 
 Denver led 10-0, which meant that if the Panthers were going to come back to win it, they would match the largest come-from-behind victory in Super Bowl history. 
 
 The miscues didn’t stop once the second half rolled around, either. 
 
 Carolina’s offense simply couldn’t break out of its funk until Newton completed two strikes in the team’s first drive that put the Panthers on the fringe on a go-ahead score. On second and 11 from the Denver 26-yard line, Newton floated a perfectly-placed pass into the hands of Cotchery, who appeared poised to cradle it in just a few yards shy of the end zone. 
 
 Except Cotchery let the ball slide out of his grasp and tumble to the turf. 
 
 "Bringing in, I thought I had two hands on it, but (Von Miller) raked one of my hands away from it and I lost it," Cotchery said. "I'm going to be replaying that the rest of my life, man." 
 
 Two plays later, place kicker Graham Gano pushed a 44-yard attempt right. 
 
 Another missed opportunity, but it wasn’t even the worst one of the quarter. 
 
 It was trumped by Ginn letting one bounce off his hands for an interception on the very next series. 
 
 Now, this leaves the Panthers searching for answers. 
 
 How did they – seemingly the best outfit in the league and one that punished its two postseason opponents before it ran into Denver – fail to finish on the biggest stage it reached? 
 
 The roster is young. It hadn’t been here before. Could the magnitude of the Super Bowl have claimed another upstart? 
 
 It’s too early to tell. Critics may point at Carolina’s brash confidence as a lack of focus, but Denver’s defense finished the season with historic production after a dominant AFC Championship Game that saw the defensive line record 17 hits on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. 
 
 "We knew those guys coming in were the best we have seen," said Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula. "We were just off on some things." 
 
 The Panthers return many of their key players. They’re still developing and growing. They can reach this stage again. 
 
 "It's a process. We will learn from this," said defensive end Kony Ealy. 
 
 But as they hover above the country on their flight, undoubtedly, they’ll regret the drops, the flags, the blown blocks – the mistakes that kept them from history.
– The 115th Congress was sworn in Tuesday, and Kansas Rep. Roger Marshall was one of the newbies who took advantage of a photo op with Speaker Paul Ryan after the ceremony. But per CNN, another Marshall ended up stealing the spotlight: the congressman's son, who started dabbing—for the uninitiated, Wikipedia describes it as "a dance move in which the dancer simultaneously drops the head while raising an arm and the elbow in a gesture that has been noted to resemble sneezing," and often employed by the Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton to celebrate a touchdown. Ryan seemed flummoxed by whatever was going on next to him, asking young Marshall, "Do you want to put your hand down?" Ryan said, gently pulling the boy's arm down. "You gonna sneeze? That it?" The elder Marshall responded with details of his son's fate Tuesday afternoon, tweeting, "Just so you know @SpeakerRyan: He's grounded." But Ryan's take on the dab debacle showed it was less the punishment he was concerned about and more answers that he sought. "Just finished swearing-in photos. Nearly 300 members. Countless cute kids. Still don't get what dabbing is, though," he tweeted Tuesday evening. Someone tape a Panthers game for him?