The “finger” didn’t become the “bird” until the 1960s, writer Brian Palmer reported for Slate. Birds had apparently been synonymous with taunting long before the mid-20th century.

Or so he says. 4. Saturday Night Live‘s fake currency commercial In 1998, SNL aired a commercial parody for Jensen Mint, during which all currency featured an image of a raised middle finger.

"It is not a crime to give someone the finger. Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given, Charter enshrined right that belongs to every red-blooded Canadian," Judge Dennis Galiatsatos wrote in ...

In the U.S., it’s the middle finger that dominates as one of the most recognizable hand gestures, so it’s no surprise that the first known photograph of flipping the bird was taken in America.

Fuelled by conflicting evidence, debate has flourished for more than a century as to whether the tri-part scaffolding of a bird wing corresponds to the thumb, index and middle finger, or to the ...

The middle finger has since become a frequently used emoji, an unintentional guest during a Super Bowl halftime show, a surprise live sign-off on the BBC and a crude gesture wielded by angry ...