Let us Assume and Accept
I caught a few minutes of the 201 version of the social sciences take on America by Mr. Wuhl in a classroom format on HBO. Mr. Wuhl does a taut, standup routine, debunks and rebunks myths of pop culture and history. He spins fun stories, and truth or not, explains many things (why do we hold a middle finger up: the English demonstrating they can still "Pluck U" to the French, it is a long story, imagine one of the many wars and the role of the middle finger in plucking longbow arrows).I was reminded of such an anecdote, this one due to Inimitable Luigi Laura. The English flag is the Cross of St George, patron saint of England and curiously, Genova. Story is, English ships borrowed the Genovese flag of the Cross of St. George to be under the protection of the powerful Genovese kingdom in the Mediterranean, and later adopted it as a national flag. Apparently, money was involved in this "borrowing". Is it true? Who cares, it is a fun story. Here is the "research", and some "quote".
posted by metoo at 6:45 AM
1 Comments:
Middle finger story about british and french is a myth. The middle finger dates back to medieval times, where it was used as an evil eye sort of thing. And it was insulting because it implied the person you are showing it to is evil.
Also there is some story that dates back to ancient greece where someone somewhat famous mixed up his middle finger with his ding-dong.
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