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?

                                                     _
                                                    /'_/)
                                                 ,/_  /
                                                /    /
                                          /'_'/'   '/'__'/','/'
                                       /'/    /    /    /   /_\
                                     ('(    '    '     _  >  \
                                      \                       |
                                       \                 '    /
                                        '\'   \          _./'
                                          \             \
                                           \             \

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!"

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
are mistakenly thought to have something to do with an intimate encounter.
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.