Our Least Favorite Hand Gestures
There are a lot of times when words just won't do the situation justice. There are also times when the distance is too great and words can't be heard. There are also times when a simple hand gesture can say quite succinctly what's on your mind. That usually occurs in traffic.
Whether you think a particular hand gesture or gesture, in general, is humorous or annoying often depends on the situation.It often is dependent on whether or not you're on the giving or receiving end. Almost all of us are aware of the "middle finger salute" despite its less than palatable meaning I think it's one that most of us have given and received.
CBS News recently did a survey asking Americans what hand gestures they found annoying. There was a tie for first place. None of the of the top vote getters was a suggestion to get your prostate examined or go make love alone.
Instead, most people felt that the "fist pump" and the "Shhh" gestures were the most annoying. It's not surprising that both of these non-verbal sayings were first made popular by athletes. They came about after the NFL decided that the gesture of slashing someone's throat was not in accordance with league policy. The league still has yet to rule on a gesture that promotes domestic abuse. That's sarcasm by the way.
More men than women hated the "Shhh" gesture than the "fist pump". These two gestured tied for first by irritating 25% of respondents to the survey. The "air quotes" gesture was a close third with 22% of those surveyed finding that motion annoying. Rounding out the top five were "thumbs up" and "OK".