This is Hidden Brain. I'm Shankar Vedantam.

In one of the most famous episodes of the TV show Seinfeld,

the character Elaine, played by Julia Louis Dreifis,

takes to the dance floor.

All right, who's dancing? All right, who's dancing?

Come on, who's dancing?

What follows is hard to describe.

Elaine's dancing resembles a giraffe

navigating an ice skating rink on roller skates.

Elaine's coworkers watch with Mautse Gabe as her hands and feet fly off in different directions.

Here's the thing though.

No one tells her she is a bad dancer.

Later, behind her back, her friends George and Jerry discuss Elaine's dancing.

Have you ever seen Elaine dance?

It's more like a full body dry heaves at the music.

Did she do the little kicks and the thumbs? What, you mean you know about this?

Is one of those problems I hope would just go away?

There's only one friend who is willing to tell Elaine the truth.

Kramer, the character in the show, who often says and does things that are socially inappropriate.

When Elaine breaks into her trademark dance moves in front of him, he asks her what she thinks she is doing.

It's dancing. No, that ain't dancing salad.

I dance fine.

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