[Leica] History Lesson (this is soooooo O.T.)

[gwpics at googlemail.com (Gerry Walden)]

This sounds like a rehash of the true origin of the English two finger
salute which is said to arise from a salute the English bowman gave
the French to show they still had their two fingers and could draw
back the bow string.

I am also reminded of a line from an English TV comedy show about life
on a daily newspaper "Never let the truth stand in the way of a good
story". In passing, the same programme will always be remembered by me
for the top less model in the newspaper which was embossed on the page
so that their blind readers could have the pleasure of running their
fingers over the curves!

Gerry

On 23/03/06, Ric Carter <ricc@mindspring.com> wrote:
> Who cares if it's the truth? A lie that good would be worth believing;^)
>
> Ric Carter
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/Passing-Fancies
>
> On Mar 23, 2006, at 2:44 PM, Jeffery Smith wrote:
>
> > I got this in an email from a 71-year-old retired Marine friend of
> > mine. I was hoping that Chandos or some other history type could
> > either verify it or disprove it. Here goes...
> > =========================================
> > The history of the middle finger salute.
> >
> > 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?
> >
> > 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 they would be incapable of
> > fighting in the future.
> >
> > This famous English longbow 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!"
> >
> > Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, the difficult
> > consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a
> > labiodentals fricative F', and thus the words often used in
> > conjunction with the one-finger-salute!
> >
> > 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."
> >
> >
> > Jeffery Smith
> >
> > Jeffery
> >
> >
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>
>
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--
Gerry Walden LBPPA
Web: www.gwpics.com
Web2:www.gwpics.thephotohq.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)23 8046 3076