Text B

Give Me a Sign: The Stories Behind Hand Gestures

Rob Lammle

1 So much can be said with a hand gesture. Here are the stories behind gestures you might use every day, and some you might not.

THE VULCAN SALUTE

2 We all know it, even if we can't all do it. The Vulcan Salute, made famous by Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock on the original Star Trek, has become a cultural icon recognized even by those who have never been to a sci-fi convention. And while the gesture is meant to be from another planet, its inspiration is anything but alien.

3 When Nimoy was a child, he witnessed a Jewish ritual called the "kohane blessing," which uses a hand sign meant to resemble the Hebrew letter "shin," which symbolizes the Hebrew word for "Shaddai," meaning "Almighty (God)." It's made by splitting the hand down the middle—holding the index and middle fingers together, the ring and pinky fingers together—and then the thumb pressed firmly against the side of the hand. The Orthodox priest giving the blessing holds both hands out in front of him in these strange configurations, palms down. When Nimoy was developing a greeting to be used between Vulcans, he remembered the sign and adapted it, using only one hand held up, and pulling his thumb away from the rest of the hand.

4 Nimoy had no problem doing the salute, but not all Trek actors have been so lucky.

5 William Shatner had to have his fingers tied together with fishing line whenever Captain Kirk needed to use the sign. Even the latest pointy-eared Vulcan, actor Zachary Quinto, who played a younger Mr. Spock in the recent blockbuster film, had to have his fingers stuck together with the skin-safe superglue used by hospitals as a replacement for traditional stitches.

THE SHAKA SIGN

6 Folding your three middle fingers down while holding out your thumb and pinky, then twisting your hand around, is a strange gesture, to say the least. But if you visit Hawaii, you're likely to see it a lot. The gesture, called the Shaka Sign, can be interpreted as "Hello," "Goodbye," "Have a nice day," "Take it easy," "Good luck," or, the most popular definition, "Hang loose." Unfortunately, the sign's history is a bit vague.

7 The oldest origin story goes back to the days when Spanish sailors first landed on the Hawaiian Islands. Unable to speak the native tongue, but trying to be friendly, the Spaniards offered to share a drink by mimicking a bottle with their hand with the gesture and tilting back their head. This became such a common greeting that the natives simply believed that's how the Spanish said hello, so they started using the sign whenever the two groups encountered one another.

8 As if the origin of the gesture isn't mysterious enough, the word "Shaka" isn't even Hawaiian. However, most people agree the name goes back to a local used car salesman, Lippy Espinda, who would throw up the sign at the end of popular TV commercials during the 1960s and 70s, and say, "Shacka, brah!" ("Shocker, bro!")

9 During his Inauguration Parade, Barack Obama threw the Shaka Sign to greet Honolulu's Punahou School marching band.

THE CORNA

10 Hand gestures can have multiple meanings. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is the "hand horn," also known as the "corna," where only the pinky and the index finger point up while the other fingers are held in the palm under the thumb.

11 Of course the corna is used by fans of the University of Texas, where they call it the "Hook 'Em Horns." Created in 1955 by student Harley Clark, the sign represents the school's mascot, a Texas longhorn steer named Bevo, and his impressive 72" horns. Being a Texas native and former Governor of Texas, though not a UT alumnus, President George W. Bush and his family were known for flashing the Hook 'Em Horns during appearances in the Lone Star State.

THE HIGH FIVE

12 The roots of the high five go back to the Jazz Era of the early 20th century. Black musicians of the time created numerous ways to say hello, such as "giving some skin," "giving five," and later a series of complicated, interconnected handshake gestures called a "dap." Then, in the late 1970s, college and professional basketball players began raising their arms above their heads and slapping the palms of their hands together, in what would later be dubbed the "high five."

13 While no one can say for sure where the high five came from, some believe the first one was exchanged between Glenn Burke and Dusty Baker, baseball players for the L.A. Dodgers, after a home run in 1977. But there is one man who claims he knows the origin of the high five, because he says he's the guy who invented it.

14 Lamont Sleets, Jr. says he adopted the high five from a salute his father exchanged with old Army buddies from the 5th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "The Five." To say hello, the men would stick their hand straight up in the air, spread their fingers wide, and call out "Five!" Anytime he saw the Five greeting, Sleets, Jr. would say "Hi, Five!" to the visiting veteran and slapped the upraised hand with his own. Sleets, Jr. went on to become one of the top basketball players at Murray State University in the late 1970s and he brought his odd salutation with him. It became popular with his teammates, and as the team traveled the country to play other schools, Sleets says the gesture caught on.