from news of the weird:
The hottest arcade game in Japan recently has been
Boong-Ga Boong-Ga, in which a player virtually jabs an
oversized finger up the clothed derriere of one of eight
loathsome targets (e.g., "exboyfriend," "golddigger," "con
man"), the more aggressive the jab, the more pained
the expression on the target's face. Japanese consumers
are said to be more comfortable with the theme than
consumers in the United States.
[also known as "Pokey-Man"]
De goosetibus non est.....
If you've seen some of the Japanese game shows, you would be able to understand why a game like that might be popular.
The hottest arcade game in Japan recently has been
Boong-Ga Boong-Ga, in which a player virtually jabs an
oversized finger up the clothed derriere of one of eight
loathsome targets
Does that include Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan?
What is the origin of the one-fingered salute, etymologically speaking?
(which I trust will not produce a gaggle of gooses)
I have no idea as to origin. But I heard a story a long time ago about a comic on radio who had a job helping Beverley Sills reach her high note in commercial "Rinso White! Rinso White!" by standing behind her and admininistering the anserine assist at just the right times.
What is the origin of the one-fingered salute, etymologically speaking?
Well, Keiva...one version I've heard is that in the old, old outhouse days when there was a scarcity of leaves or twigs they resorted to the finger-method. And, of course, the longest finger was the most sensible to use. And I've also heard it mentioned that some folks in a certain country (without pointing any fingers ahem, the French) still employ that method today. Don't know how reliable this all is, though.
And did you see that "flippin'-off" emoticon in the animated gallery? Unbelievable!
Well, the two fingered version developed during one (which I can't remember - there were so many) of the English-French wars a couple of centuries ago. When the French captured an English archer, they would sever the index and middle finger of the archers hand, making it impossible for him to draw a bow. Hence the (uncaptured) British soldiers taunted the French by holding up their two fingers. I'd always assumed the one-fingered version developed from there, somehow.
British soldiers taunted the French by holding up their two fingers.
Hah! Snope that.
This is a very strange thread, boys. I just wanted to pipe in and tell you that.
However, Bill, your:
De goosetibus non est.....
...brought about a chuckle.
Still, very strange thread.
Best regards,
WW
Still, very strange thread
Dear WW
I most strongly agree with you. And if it had not been tsuwm (an intelligent American) who brought it up, and if it were not about Japanese, I should be more tranquil about it.
Dear wsieber: Have you forgotten the Biedermeier obsession with the passage of excrement? I remember a book with several pictures showing animals defecating. I often wondered if such pictures influence Freud.
Nearly trivial remark: it's one thing to display obsession with bodily functions - and quite another thing to point out such an obsession in a foreign population. Anthropologists have come under close scrutiny for such matters...
...it's one thing to display obsession with bodily functions - and quite another thing to point out such an obsession in a foreign population......and yet another to find oneself surrounded by the surreality of it all. This is common practice among Korean children - some of my expatriate colleagues who taught at preschools and kindergartens reported that the kids would give a teacher "Dong-jib" (the Korean term for it) to show that they liked him/her.
All together now: With friends like that,
who needs enemas? 
Dear wsieber: It's hard to decide which is worse, being too casual about the facts of life, or being too
rigidly in denial of them. One man's Mede is another man's Persian, as an old cliché has it.
the kids would give a teacher "Dong-jib"
Well, I guess it beats a rotten apple. Sounds more exotic, too!