Fist bumps, waves, and salutes

The peace sign doesn't mean what you think! A guide to hand gestures

Hand gestures are everywhere—so ingrained in our daily lives that we often don’t realize how frequently we communicate through them. Whether expressing emotions, adding context to our words, or simply enhancing spoken communication, gestures are a vital part of our shared culture, passed down through generations for centuries. From ancient Rome to the modern day, here are 12 hand gestures and their fascinating origins explained.

The exact origins of the thumbs-up gesture remain uncertain, but its earliest documented use dates back to Roman gladiators, where a thumbs-up or thumbs-down was believed to signal life or death in the arena. Today, the gesture is nearly universal, thanks to its popularization through media, travel, and even emojis. However, it carries offensive meanings in certain cultures, and for divers, it signifies "ascend," rather than approval—so context matters!

Believe it or not, the V sign originally began as an insulting gesture, though with the back of the hand facing outward. A more positive meaning, however, was popularized during World War II when Winston Churchill used it as a "V for Victory" symbol. The double-entendre of the gesture likely added to its appeal—flipping the hand’s orientation easily turned it into a mocking snub toward the enemy. In the 1960s, the gesture took on new meaning during the counterculture movements, evolving into an enduring symbol of peace.

The wave as a friendly greeting traces back to medieval times when knights raised their visors to show they meant no harm. Its simplicity and universal appeal have made it a common gesture worldwide, transcending language barriers. However, in some countries like Nigeria and South Korea, certain types of waving can still carry offensive connotations.

The handshake might be one of the oldest hand gestures on this list, so it’s hard to be sure of its origins. Yet, there is evidence that it was already in use 3,000 years ago, as a way to seal alliances. In ancient Greece it was called dexiosis, and was practised as early as the 5th century BC. While the gesture is found in many cultures, the specifics as to when and how it should be used vary significantly.

Pointing likely originated as a practical gesture to indicate objects or directions, making it one of humanity's oldest forms of communication. Fascinatingly, it is the first communicative gesture to develop in human infants, and linguists believe it plays a crucial role in language acquisition. However, despite its universal utility, many cultures consider pointing at other people with the index finger to be rude or disrespectful.

The origin of the military salute, like the wave, is disputed. Some historians trace it to the medieval practice of knights raising their helmet’s visor as a gesture of recognition and peaceful intentions. By the 18th century, it had evolved into a formal military custom to signify respect and camaraderie. Today, variations of the salute can be seen across armed forces worldwide, each adapted to reflect the unique traditions and protocols of different nations.

While the phrase "give me five" was already slang for a type of handshake, the high five most likely evolved from the "low five," a gesture rooted in African-American culture since the 1920s. The first documented use of the high five occurred in 1977, credited to Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It quickly became associated with sports, symbolizing shared triumphs and camaraderie.

The fist bump can trace its origins to boxers who were instructed to touch gloves at the start of a contest. However, its popularization is a relatively recent phenomenon, gaining traction in sports and youth culture during the 1990s as a more casual alternative to the handshake. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the fist bump became a common greeting, as shaking hands was discouraged to help slow the spread of the virus.

While the origins of clapping as a form of applause are difficult to pinpoint, it is a common practice in many cultures. One of its earliest documented uses dates back to ancient Roman theater, where audiences clapped or waved pieces of cloth to express approval for performances. The percussive sound of clapping has also found its place in music, particularly in genres like funk, gospel, doo-wop, and flamenco.

The "OK" gesture, made by forming a circle with the thumb and index finger, became popular in 19th-century America as a symbol for "all correct." However, its origins trace back to classical antiquity, where a thumb and forefinger touching was thought to mimic kissing lips, often used as a romantic gesture. It wasn’t until Roman rhetoricians began using it during public speeches that the gesture gained its modern connotation of approval or assent.

The crossed fingers gesture, often used to wish for luck, has its origins in ancient Christianity, where it was likely adopted for its resemblance to the Cross of Christ. Over time, it also became associated with telling lies, especially among children who use it as an excuse for telling a white lie or invalidating a promise.

Though likely as old as human frustration itself, the facepalm gesture became globally famous through internet memes, becoming a shorthand for disappointment or exasperation in both real life and online. Surprisingly, it’s not exclusive to humans—primates have been observed using similar gestures to signal a desire for solitude or to avoid social interaction.

Translation and interpretation

Was the forbidden fruit really an apple? 10 Bible surprises

What if some of the Bible stories you grew up with aren't exactly what the Bible says? Was the forbidden fruit really an apple? Were there actually three Wise Men? Did "God helps those who help themselves" really come from the Bible? Over centuries, translations, traditions, and famous works of art have added details that became so familiar, we stopped questioning them. But go back to the texts, and some of these stories look surprisingly different. From Eve's "apple" to the date of Jesus' birth, here are 10 familiar parts of the Bible that may not be quite what we remember.

When you picture the Garden of Eden, what fruit comes to mind? Most people imagine an apple, but there's just one problem: the Bible never says it was an apple.

In the Book of Genesis, the fruit is simply called "the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." The original Hebrew text uses the word peri, which simply means "fruit." The apple connection came centuries later, largely through the Latin translation. The Latin word malum can mean both "apple" and "evil," making it an especially fitting symbol for the story. Over time, that association spread through Christian art and literature. Famous works such as Albrecht Dürer’s 1504 engraving Adam and Eve (also known as The Fall of Man) helped cement the image of Eve holding an apple. Today, it's one of the most famous scenes in history, even though the original biblical text doesn’t identify the fruit as an apple at all.

The story of Jesus' birth is so famous that most of us picture the Three Wise Men, sometimes called the Three Kings, standing beside the manger. But the thing is, over the centuries, the story picked up a few details that aren't actually in the Bible.

In the Gospel of Matthew, the only Gospel that mentions these visitors, they are described simply as Magi from the East. The original Greek word, magoi, referred to learned scholars, astrologers, or priests from Persia or Babylon, not kings. But where did the number three come from? Matthew lists three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but never says how many visitors brought them. Over the centuries, people naturally assumed there must have been three Magi, one for each gift. Even their familiar names, Melchior, Caspar, and Balthasar, were added later by Christian tradition. So, neither the number of visitors nor their names appears anywhere in the biblical text.

Whether it's used to motivate a friend, encourage a family member, or push yourself to finally make a difficult decision, "God helps those who help themselves" is one of the most familiar religious sayings in America. But here's the surprise: those words never appear in the Bible.

The idea can be traced to ancient Greek sources, including Aesop’s Fables, where the saying appears in an earlier form: "The gods help them that help themselves." The exact modern wording was written by English politician Algernon Sidney in 1698, but it was Benjamin Franklin who helped make it part of American culture when he included it in his 1736 edition of Poor Richard’s Almanack.

Many teenagers have heard "Cleanliness is next to godliness" when it was time to clean their rooms. But despite sounding like a Bible verse, the phrase never appears in Scripture.

The Bible, particularly Leviticus, does contain extensive laws requiring people to wash their bodies and clothes in certain circumstances, especially before religious rituals. But the famous saying itself came much later. In 1605, Francis Bacon wrote in The Advancement of Learning that "cleanness of body" was connected to reverence for God. Then, in 1786, it was Methodist leader John Wesley who used the wording we recognize today in a sermon: "Cleanliness is indeed next to Godliness." Over time, the phrase became a familiar saying that many people simply assumed came from the Bible.

When it comes to famous dates, December 25 may be the most recognizable of all, universally associated with Christmas. But here's the surprising part: the Bible never gives any specific date for Jesus' birth.

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke describe the Nativity but never provide a calendar date, so how did December 25 become Christmas? There are two leading theories. The first is that the Roman Church was celebrating Christmas on December 25 by 336 AD, during Constantine's reign, possibly choosing the date to coincide with existing Roman winter festivals and make it easier to convert the empire to Christianity. The second points to an early Christian tradition that calculated Jesus' birth date from the supposed date of his crucifixion, eventually arriving at December 25.

The story of Jonah and the Whale is so famous that it has appeared literally or symbolically in innumerable works of art and literature, from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling (1508-1512) to Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick. But there's a small problem with the title we've given it: the Bible doesn’t actually say it was a whale.

In the Old Testament, the original Hebrew text of Jonah 1:17 uses the words dag gadol, meaning "great fish" or "large fish"; it doesn't identify the creature as a whale, or even specify what kind of fish it was. Most modern English translations therefore stick with "great fish," but the familiar "whale" interpretation developed through older translations and later European tradition, eventually becoming so widespread that "Jonah and the Whale" became the name almost everyone recognizes.

Just as we've always pictured the forbidden fruit as an apple, many of us also assume the serpent in the Garden of Eden is the devil himself. But the original story is a little more complicated.

A plain reading of Genesis depicts the creature simply as a serpent or snake, using the Hebrew word nachash. It describes the serpent as clever and crafty, but it never calls it Satan or explicitly identifies it as the devil. So where did the connection come from? The answer comes from later parts of the Bible, particularly the New Testament. In Revelation 12:9 and 20:2, Satan is called "the ancient serpent" (ho ophis ho archaios in Greek), connecting him to the snake of Eden. Over time, Christian tradition applied that later connection back to Genesis, leading to the familiar belief that the serpent was Satan himself.

Many of us remember Samson for his legendary strength and the long hair that was said to be the source of his power. His story with Delilah is one of the Bible's most famous tales of betrayal, but there's one detail some people may have gotten wrong: Delilah didn't actually cut his long hair.

In Judges 16:19, Delilah has Samson's hair shaved while he sleeps on her lap. The text says she called for a man to do the shaving; it never says she did it herself. Yet paintings, films, and other retellings have often shown Delilah wielding the scissors herself, cementing that image in popular culture. It can be considered a small detail, but it’s a great example of how easily familiar Bible stories can pick up elements that aren't actually in the original text.

Many of us think of the Bible as a single book, written at one particular time by one author, or perhaps a handful of them. After all, that's how it looks when you pick one up in a hotel room, but its history is far more complicated.

The Bible is actually a collection of books written by over 40 authors over roughly 1,500 years, from about 1400 BC to AD 100. The exact number of books varies by religious tradition: Protestant Bibles contain 66 books, while Catholic and Orthodox traditions include additional books. Across these different traditions, the writings were produced by kings, prophets, fishermen, and scholars in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. They also span a tremendous range of literary styles, including history, poetry, songs, laws, letters, and prophecy. So while we hold it as one book today, the Bible is actually a collection of many different writings produced across centuries.

Many people assume that at least a few original fragments of the Bible must still exist somewhere. It would be incredible if they did, but none of the original manuscripts, known as autographs, have survived.

The earliest biblical texts were written on fragile materials such as papyrus and animal skins, which could deteriorate through humidity, heat, handling, and simple age. Wars, fires, and other destruction also contributed to their disappearance. So how do we know what the originals said? Through a technique called textual criticism: expert scholars compare thousands of handwritten copies, ancient translations, and quotations from early Christian writers. When they find passages that match across different sources, or differences that reveal how a text changed over time, they can work backward to determine what the original most likely said, even though the original manuscripts themselves are gone.