It’s not that complicated, aliens
The middle finger gesture was used in ancient times as a symbol of sexual intercourse, in a manner meant to degrade, intimidate and threaten the individual receiving the gesture. It also represented the phallus, with the fingers next to the middle finger representing testicles
It’s a classic human cock-and-balls, simple as
“Xeepzorp, it’s not that complicated. The thumb-up is like crossing your eyestalks, and the middle-finger is like extruding your rectal tentacle.”
Ah yes the ass dick
Aliens with a literal dick-butt? The Internet would love them!
God I never understood that. And I was the perfect age for it.
The universe is a big place. Dick-butt aliens are pretty much a given.
This made me realize that if we encounter aliens there is a non-zero chance there will be alien weebs that become obsessed with our culture and think it is superior.
That’s how we beat the Zentradi.
The Zentradi thought swimsuits were armor, they don’t exactly have a track record for brilliant decision making
Wait until they learn that the thumbs-up in some countries means what the middle finger does in the US…
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the Czech Republic, where apparently holding up a single index finger means 2.
Not a Czech but now that you mentioned it I want this here too!
I mean have you tried counting from either end using all your fingers i.e. thumb == 1? That dexterous shit is hard so making a single index finger two instantly makes it nice and smooth!
(Instant edit: this obviously only holds if index finger+ middle finger counts as 3, otherwise there really only seems to be an advantage in calling out 2 and my argument collapses)
How do you count 1 then?
I do have some experience with the Czech Republic and I’m pretty sure this isn’t the case.
I was only there a month. I can’t claim to be any kind of expert. But I do know I wound up eating two sausages.
Sausages are often sold as a pair there, just like socks - you won’t get just one :) Even the czech word párek (sausage) means also “a pair”.
Fascinating. Didn’t know that!
Ah yes signs and symbols. Surely no alien ever has heard of those.
Humans vibrate the air in different and complicated ways. One vibration pattern humans like, another vibration pattern they don’t like. sure this “speech” thing is really complicated. also symbols squibbled on surfaces. language, am I right?
Instead of just using brain-to-brain radio waves like any civilized species would. Pathetic.
What are you? Some sort stelliferous era primitive? We of the degenerate/blackhole era use quantum entanglement for daily communication.
Seems like any aliens advanced enough to study us would very easily figure out that hand gestures are a form of communication.
Fun fact: cats sometimes respond similarly to humans when presented with the middle finger. Without training. And often it with cats that do hate it, it’s that finger specifically and only that specific gesture.
I still have absolutely no idea why, but some cats just naturally react as if it’s an offense towards them. Maybe they equate it to a tail raised straight?
Let’s see how harmless it is when I jam it in your compound eye Mr. Kleezorp
And some humans don’t mind the middle finger at all and even react to it with bemusement!
But some humans think the ok gesture is as bad as or worse than the middle finger.
Others are offended by the index and middle finger being extended in a V shape with the palm facing inward…but never when it’s facing outward!
Ya know I don’t actually think having widely recognised hand signals with different meanings is all that weird.
Body language is ubiquitous as communication in animal species, it’s like saying “why one noise good but another noise bad”
“You see, in france, the archers were getting their middle fingers cut off … and that’s why it’s offensive.”
“Is all that true?”
“Yes, the history is well documented. Billy from home room told Jessie in gym class…”
My dog pisses on other dog’s piss as a show of dominance. We’re all weird.
At least that makes sense and has a logical reason
“The gesture is an invitation for the adversary to put their middle finger in their own excreting orifice”
“Wow it must be painful for them!”
“They seem to have rather pleasant experience instead”
“Interesting…”“We must facilitate this experience for them as a sign of good faith.”
I did corporate training for an international company for about 20 years. Once when I was in Mexico something happened in class and I said something was okay and used my finger and thumb to make the okay sign. They kind of laughed and started talking among themselves. I guess the okay sign means asshole in Mexico so when they explained that I laughed with them and said I didn’t know that. One of the jokers in class said “yeah, okay we believe you” and gave me the okay sign. lol
