The History of the 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?
>>>
>>> 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 English
>>> longbow 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! Since 'pluck yew' is rather
>>> difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the
>>> beginning has gradually changed to a labiodentals
>>> 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."
>>>
>>> IT IS STILL AN APPROPRIATE SALUTE TO THE FRENCH TODAY!
>>>
>>> And yew thought yew knew every plucking thing.
>>>
>>> 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?
>>>
>>> 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 English
>>> longbow 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! Since 'pluck yew' is rather
>>> difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the
>>> beginning has gradually changed to a labiodentals
>>> 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."
>>>
>>> IT IS STILL AN APPROPRIATE SALUTE TO THE FRENCH TODAY!
>>>
>>> And yew thought yew knew every plucking thing.
