When did we decide that the middle finger was an inflammatory gesture?
I like to think that two people were having an argument, and one of them realized he had a spider on his middle finger so, interrupted in the midst of all his fury, he instinctively flipped up his middle finger in shock and horror.
His co-arguee (copyrighting that word—deal with it) misinterpreted this as a physical sign of aggression because the finger was coupled with a very disturbed facial expression which I can best describe as one of “disgust,” but was interpreted as “anger” (though the anger was still there—just not prominent once the spider bit happened).
Ever since, people have replicated this gesture whenever incensed with fellow citizens, particularly when driving.
The “thumbs up” is a gesture of appreciation which originated, somewhat ironically, between the same two men a few years later. The same man who had the spider on his middle finger actually discovered a butterfly on his thumb during a conversation with his best friend, the same man that originally perceived the middle finger as an angry gesture, and so the first man stuck his thumb up and smiled at the butterfly, just as his friend told him that his wife was expecting their firstborn child.
Until next time,
Michael J. Erickson, CEO & Co-Founder
