History of the middle finger

[Grey]

Now we know ...

> >
> > History of Middle finger
> >
> > Well, now......here's something I never knew before, and now that I
know
> > it, I feel compelled to send it on to my more intelligent friends
in
the
> > hope that they, too, will feel edified . Isn't History more fun
when
you
> > know something about it?
> >
> > /' )
> > ,/_ /
> > / /
> > /'_'/' '/'__'/','/'
> > /'/ / / / /_\
> > ( ( ' ' _ > \
> > \ |
> > \ / '
> > \ /
> > 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 they
> > would 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!"
> > Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, 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!
> >
> > It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with
> > the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the
bird."

> > And
yew
> > thought yew knew everything.