In a competition, 8 athletes led by Coach Li achieved good results. To express their congratulations, each of them (athlete and athlete, coach and athlete) shook hands once. How many times did they shake hands in total?
在一次比赛中，李教练带的8名运动员取得了好成绩，为了表示祝贺，他们每两人(运动员与运动员，教练与运动员)握一次手，一共握了多少次手．
<gadget id="calculator">8 + 1</gadget>
<output>9</output>

<gadget id="calculator">9 - 1</gadget>
<output>8</output>

<gadget id="calculator">9 / 2</gadget>
<output>9/2 = around 4.5</output>

<gadget id="calculator">8 * (9/2)</gadget>
<output>36</output>

<result>36</result>