It has become even more important in an age of masks and digital school, in which so much of our expression through body language is lost. And the symbol chosen to portray this? A thumbs up, of course.īy this point in history, there is no doubt what a thumb pointed to the skies indicates. They debated stars, rating systems, and even used the working name of the “awesome button.” But after much debate, and a little input from CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself, they came up with one of the most influential tools of the 21st Century: the “like” button. In 2007, advanced teams on the ever-growing social media site Facebook were looking for a way to keep the platform fresh, and working on things called “props,” actions to interact with posts. Usage expanded into more non-military communities with the popularity of the classic ‘70s and ‘80s show “Happy Days,” in which Fonzie was famous for using the gesture. Their British counterparts gave the gesture the name the “thumbs-up.” Similarly, pilots in World War II used it as a quicker and more efficient way of telling their flight crew that they were safely strapped into their aircraft. Army would flip up a thumb to indicate that everything was fine. ![]() First World War veteran Arthur Guy Empey, who was American but served in the British Army, recounted his experiences in battle in his 1917 book “Over The Top.” It was here that he mentioned how other soldiers in the U.S. Two millennia later, the motion would adopt its more positive meaning. One such signal was the thumbs up unfortunately for the gladiator, this was the rudis calling for him to be killed. When it was time for the fight to conclude, he would flash one of a large variety of hand signals to both the gladiators on the ground and the crowd watching. This ancient ref would monitor the battle and decide when it was over. In fact, they even had their own form of a referee, called a summa rudis. These brutal fights are often depicted in Hollywood action films to be barbaric and somewhat disturbing, but actually were built around a somewhat fair set of rules that aimed at entertaining a crowd, and not always ending in blood-soaked arenas. ![]() The idea of using a thumb pointed upwards or down first found meaning in Ancient Roman gladiator fights. However, despite the seeming simplicity of it, the roots of it go back centuries! It’s become synonymous with positivity, congratulations, a job well done, and with online school, it has found even more use in everyday conversation. The thumbs-up is a symbol that most of us have known our entire lives.
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