Posted by Seasnake on June 13, 2001 at 12:38:30:
Under Water communication is not easy. When you give a hand signal, you must display
it distinctly and you must wait for a response from our buddy. One hand signals that
always gets a response is the one using the middle finger. Here is some of the history
of this hand signal.
According to research, here's the true story: Giving the Finger - Before the Battle of
Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut
off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it
would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore be
incapable of fighting in the future. This famous weapon was made of the native
English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the
yew" (or "pluck yew").
Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began
mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying,
"See, we can still pluck yew! PLUCK YEW!" Over the years some 'folk
etymologies' have grown up around this symbolic gesture. Since 'pluck yew' is
rather difficult to say (like "peasant mother pheasant plucker", which is who you
had to go to for the feathers used on the arrows for the longbow), the difficult
consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodental fricative
'F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute are
mistakenly thought to have something to do with an intimate encounter. It is also
because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows that the symbolic gesture is known
as "giving the bird". And yew all thought yew knew everything! (Coop’s)
Snake