Talk with Your Hands

Rock Paper Scissors, or Jan-ken, is really important among children in Japan. It's frequently played to make decisions. This morning I saw that YouTube's "The History Guy" produced a video on the game and gives a detailed account of the game's journey from China to Japan to the West.

It's funny he compulsively pronounces the j in Jan-ken like a Spanish j. Otherwise, it's an accurate video, to the best of my knowledge.

Students have taught me various rude gestures, which I'm always delighted to learn. Apparently putting the backs of your hands together in a sort of reverse prayer pose is an insulting gesture. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it's not one available to me as the particular configuration of my joints won't allow me to comfortably twist my arms that way.

A few years ago, a student taught me what seemed to be an extremely rude gesture I copied into a notebook I've sadly misplaced. I still don't know what precisely it meant because she wouldn't explain it. Sounds like a good start of an MR James story. Which reminds me, we're getting into MR James season, I should start reading him again.