The middle finger originated as a phallic gesture The cheeky Greeks “probably relied on the use of the middle finger to represent an erect penis,” wrote Max Nelson, who teaches courses on ...

F1 Driver, 25, Gives Competitors the Middle Finger at the Airport: 'Classic' originally appeared on Parade.

Proudly displaying a middle finger 2,500 years ago was usually meant as a joke. Today, “flipping the bird” is considered so vulgar that it’s frequently blurred in media.