[homerjockey]

Hoping somebody has some info on this.
As part of my job as a yard jockey if I find a trailer in need of repair I report it so it can be fixed before the driver comes to pick it up. The other day I found a damaged glad hand, and reported it to management. The supervisor asked me "why do you call it a glad hand?". I must admit as curious of a person as I normally am, I had never thought to ask. I asked the mechanic when he arrived to fix it. He said " you hook your airline up to it and be GLAD if the trailer moves". I took that to mean he didn't know. Google and Wikipedia have not been any help.
Does anybody know the origin of the glad hand, who invented it, and why we call it a glad hand? Any info would help or maybe point me to a Website with the answers.
Thanks, the jockey

[VPIDarkAngel]

I'm gonna venture a guess and say that it has something to do with the alternative, non-air-brake-applicable definition of the word: glad-hand - Wiktionary

[homerjockey]

Allright thanks for the tip. I will continue to search for clues.