I was going to say that the gesture would likely not have been recognized in the late 1800s or whenever this might be, but I was wrong, and flipping the bird was a known insult way back in Roman times, so I am not going to say what I was originally going to and today we learned.

[–] U7826391786239@lemmy.zip 12 points 3 months ago

funny how the "offensive" stuff persists throughout time. fun fact- the word "rooster" was invented because people didn't want to say "cock." guess what word hasn't gone away...

[–] persona_non_gravitas@piefed.social 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I absolutely adore that you looked it up, and feel seen and validated.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The two finger version of this originates in mediaeval Europe so it's been possible to swear it people with your hands for a huge amount of history. It's weird what we seem to prioritise.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 months ago

As an American, I wish the two finger salute would take off over here. It's so fun to do