Digitus impudicus

I was talking with a coworker about flipping the bird yesterday, which, of course, led to the sharing of this clip...

Flight of the Conchords, "The Bird"

He and I were talking about it, and we realized there was definitely an aesthetic preference where flipping the bird was concerned, and a handedness preference, too.

When's the last time you flipped somebody off, Gentle Reader? Which hand did you use? Did you opt for closed fist, open hand, or other? Did you flip somebody off "gangstah-style" (like a sideways flip-off), or a "flyin' the flag" (vertical, classic) kind of flip-off? Do you opt for a classic All-American bird-flipping (as in the video above), or a regional/ethnic flip-off?

One thing about the above picture that bugs me is that I think the kid is an English football fan; I think the sourcing of it is English (hence the red and white facepaint still evident, there) -- however, why is it flipping the bird? Why's he not doing the English "V" bollocks flip-off? A mystery maybe he can answer one day.

I love the long history of the Bird. Also, what an exemplary middle finger is included in the Wikipedia entry! That gal's finger is LONG, and so the Bird she's flipping is a grand gesture! Gotta love this, the first known photographed flip-off (back row, extreme left), circa 1886...

I love stuff like that -- silly pop culture apocrypha. I love the idea of a scholar poring through old pictures and determining "THERE! This is THE FIRST photographed 'giving of the finger'." And then writing a paper on it!