# Bizarre Signals You Didn't Know You Were Giving **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 10, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482 "2004-05-10T17:27:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/61 "2004-05-11T20:04:24Z")
> [@yastobaal](#): > > those poor lefties. A poor choice of symbolism, though: it’s actually **righties** who wear watches on the left hand. I’m not sure which is the cause or the effect, but the winding stem on most watches is on the right, so wearing it on the left hand presents the tiny hardware to the right hand; if you wore a watch on the right hand, the left hand would have to contort very strangely to manipulate the winding stem. Did the stem get its placement after the left wrist was chosen, or the other way 'round? I don’t know. I’m not sure why, but right-handed women occasionally wear watches on the right instead of the more-traditional left. As for the hankie code, I’d love to find three gay men who could agree on the distinction between “light blue”, “robin’s egg blue” and “Air Force Blue.” And since the Air Force only issues _white_ handkerchiefs, where will I get an Air Force Blue hankie? I’ll admit that the earring location, presence of a tongue stud, and even (for some kids) bracelets have well-defined meanings in their right contexts. I’d heard that various one-pant-leg styles meant “I’m buying” or “I’m selling”, and that the baggy clothes with no belt were an imitation of prison clothing, where you wear the size they issue you, and you don’t get a belt. All of these have one element in common: you choose to display them. For that reason, I think the tattoo location “code” is a little spurious – if the “code” meant anything, wouldn’t the tattoo artists ensure that you’d heard of it’s meaning before _permanently_ adding you to the club? What if your tastes change? What if the meaning of the code changes? It’s too much to leave to chance. While we’re at it, does anyone know what the CD hanging from a rear-view mirror is all about? Is it just “oooo, shiny”? ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/62 "2004-05-11T22:42:02Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > When I see someone wearing a battle axe pendant, I think they’re a gamer or a SCAdian (or both!), and prefer to play barbarians. > > Come to think of it, that would explain the hairy geeky men wearing this pendant. Heh, just don’t mix up the battle axe with a [Thor’s Hammer.](http://www.mythicages.com/thor.htm) [Here](http://wiccansupplystore.com/Jewelry/Norse_Pendant_2.shtml) are pictures of a Viking axe, and Thor’s hammers for comparison purposes. Some portrayals of the hammer look almost like a double bladed axe. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/63 "2004-05-12T07:42:47Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > A poor choice of symbolism, though: it’s actually **righties** who wear watches on the left hand. I’m not sure which is the cause or the effect, but the winding stem on most watches is on the right, so wearing it on the left hand presents the tiny hardware to the right hand; if you wore a watch on the right hand, the left hand would have to contort very strangely to manipulate the winding stem. Did the stem get its placement after the left wrist was chosen, or the other way 'round? I don’t know. > > I’m not sure why, but right-handed women occasionally wear watches on the right instead of the more-traditional left. Although I’m not a woman, I’m right-handed and wear my watch on my right wrist, and have always done so. It signifies (shock horror!) that I like to wear my watch on my right wrist. And yes, I have to take it off to manipulate the stem (stop snickering!) although it’s not something I need to do very often. > [@](#): > > While we’re at it, does anyone know what the CD hanging from a rear-view mirror is all about? Is it just “oooo, shiny”? It means you’re into ferrets. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/64 "2004-05-12T11:33:18Z")
For some reason, **Pervert’s** post has me giggling like crazy. I’m picturing Stone Phillips doing a story. “Going Inside Incest: The Signals.” I have to say re: tattoos on the small of a woman’s back…I put a temporary tattoo back there for fun once and I got a completely different type of attention at work. (I bartend, which means by definition that a lot of men get the opportunity to stare at my backside, and my shirt rides up.) So apparently I was Unknowingly Giving the Bizarre Signal that I want to bond with everyone who has tattoos. They were coming out of the woodwork. Guys who would normally never even talk to me were like, “HEY, COOL TAT, MAN! WHAT DOES IT MEAN?” Even old men were all suggestive all of a sudden…“Hey, isn’t she a sassy young thing, look at that fine tattoo…” FTR, it was a tattoo of the Bacardi Bat, but since no one apparently knows that Bacardi’s mascot/logo is a bat, everyone just thought I was a hardcore bat-loving chick. (Or a hardcore Batman fan. I dunno which is worse.) I also discovered that men, even men who see me every day, are always checking out my ass. Not a single woman noticed my temporary tat, but 80% of the men I work with did. Even my boss. It was a slightly unnerving, and unintended, survey. Good thing the damn bat came off with baby oil. (Yes, the humor of sending off a Bat Signal has occurred to me.) Other signals…I’ve always been told that if a guy has an unusually long pinky fingernail, he does coke. I can’t think of another reason (besides cutting a line) for a guy to skip that nail…and the few people I know who do ARE cokeheads…but maybe some guys just like proving they can, you know, grow a really long nail. “Admire my calcium intake!” Or something. Erm… ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/65 "2004-05-12T13:44:05Z")
The only thing I think when I see a guy with long fingernails (or even just one pinky nail) is “Cut your damned nails! You look creepy!” ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/66 "2004-05-12T16:40:32Z")
> [@Audrey Levins](#): > > Other signals…I’ve always been told that if a guy has an unusually long pinky fingernail, he does coke. I can’t think of another reason (besides cutting a line) for a guy to skip that nail…and the few people I know who do ARE cokeheads…but maybe some guys just like proving they can, you know, grow a really long nail. “Admire my calcium intake!” Or something. Erm… I have also been told it was because they did coke ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/67 "2004-05-12T16:55:38Z")
> [@Steve Wright](#): > > I would be _sooooooo_ tempted to reply, “Oh yeah? Prove it.” If this is a pun or something, consider me whooshed, but here you go: [Web page](http://www.slonet.org/~rloomis/pulpfic.html) with a .wav file of Jody “explaining her tongue stud.” > [@http://www.godamongdirectors.com/scripts/pulp.shtml](#): > > ``` > VINCENT > (interrupting) > Excuse me, sorry to interrupt. I'm > curious, why would you get a stud > in your tongue? > > Jody looks at him and says as if it were the most obvious > thing in the world. > > JODY > It's a sex thing. It helps > fellatio. > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![nocturnal\_tick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@nocturnal\_tick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nocturnal_tick)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/68 "2004-05-12T17:23:41Z")
So does everyone know about women with long, white fingernails? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/69 "2004-05-12T17:36:49Z")
> [@Audrey Levins](#): > > I also discovered that men, even men who see me every day, are always checking out my ass. Not a single woman noticed my temporary tat, but 80% of the men I work with did. Even my boss. Where have you been? A convent? Yes. Men stare at women’s asses. Especially the finer examples, but not exclusively. In fact, it’s a pretty well-known fact that adolescent males in high school can identify nearly every one of their female classmates from behind, even if they are obscured from the waist up. Now, even though it’s perfectly normal behavior, this may bother some people, in some cultures. So they make their women wear hooded, shapeless sacks their entire lives. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/70 "2004-05-12T17:40:44Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > The only thing I think when I see a guy with long fingernails (or even just one pinky nail) is “Cut your damned nails! You look creepy!” Or, if they have long nails on just one hand: “He must be a guitarist.” ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/71 "2004-05-12T17:42:03Z")
> [@bughunter](#): > > In fact, it’s a pretty well-known fact that adolescent males in high school can identify nearly every one of their female classmates from behind, even if they are obscured from the waist up. Cite? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![nocturnal\_tick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@nocturnal\_tick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nocturnal_tick)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/72 "2004-05-12T18:00:06Z")
> [@elfbabe](#): > > Cite? :dubious: Every teenage boy in the universe. 'Nuff said, really. ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/73 "2004-05-12T18:04:22Z")
> [@nocturnal\_tick](#): > > Every teenage boy in the universe. 'Nuff said, really. Oh, I’m not saying teenage boys DON’T stare at girls’ asses. It’s still a silly claim, though. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/74 "2004-05-12T18:07:27Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > As for the hankie code, I’d love to find three gay men who could agree on the distinction between “light blue”, “robin’s egg blue” and “Air Force Blue.” Where are the fab five when you need them? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/75 "2004-05-12T18:36:11Z")
> [@Audrey Levins](#): > > Other signals…I’ve always been told that if a guy has an unusually long pinky fingernail, he does coke. I can’t think of another reason (besides cutting a line) for a guy to skip that nail…and the few people I know who do ARE cokeheads…but maybe some guys just like proving they can, you know, grow a really long nail. “Admire my calcium intake!” Or something. Erm… Oh, my dad would be suprised to hear this. At 62, he wears his pinky long, and his thumbnail, too, on his right hand. It’s to help pick up small nuts/bolts/electronic components. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/76 "2004-05-12T18:48:13Z")
> [@elfbabe](#): > > Oh, I’m not saying teenage boys DON’T stare at girls’ asses. It’s still a silly claim, though. Oh, sorry, it was a silly claim… … I forgot to include they can recognize their female teachers, too. You’re not the first female who was a bit doubtful about this news… but just ask your husband/SO/male friends. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/77 "2004-05-12T21:05:41Z")
> [@Audrey Levins](#): > > FTR, it was a tattoo of the Bacardi Bat, but since no one apparently knows that Bacardi’s mascot/logo is a bat, everyone just thought I was a hardcore bat-loving chick. (Or a hardcore Batman fan. I dunno which is worse.) As bat-lover, I’m very familiar with the Bacardi logo. An excerpt from the official Bacardi site > [@](#): > > . . .Don Facundo’s wife, Dona Amalia Lucía Victoria Moreau, suggested employing the Bat as the trademark for their new rum. > > Upon entering the first BACARDI distillery, Amalia noticed a colony of fruit bats living in the rafters. Bats had great significance in Dona Amalia’s world. As a lover of the arts, she knew that Cuba’s extinct native people, the Taínos, regarded bats as possessors of all cultural goods. And she knew from local lore that bats were popularly thought to bring good health, fortune and family unity. > > Her suggestion also was hardheaded and pragmatic. Because of the high rate of illiteracy in the 19th century, a product needed a memorable graphic logo – a trademark – to become identifiable and sell. Reports quickly flew across Cuba of Don Facundo’s choice new charcoal-mellowed rums . . . But the bat mythology also helped. Word of Don Facundo’s Bat spread side-by-side with word of his smooth rums. The Bat, local storytellers attested, brought good fortune and added magical powers to his rum. Though I can’t find it on the site, the company also funds bat research and conservation. I often tell people of the time I had a fight with a girlfriend. I had to stop by her place to return something. She gave me an actual bat, in a jar of formaldehyde. It was at that point I new we would be getting back together. **Scuba Ben** Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen axe jewelry sold as a lesbian symbol. The folks I know who have a piece are both Scadians and gamers. **Bughunter** With a moniker like that, I’d think you often find people getting the wrong signal. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/78 "2004-05-12T22:28:18Z")
> [@bughunter](#): > > Where have you been? A convent? > > Yes. Men stare at women’s asses. Especially the finer examples, but not exclusively…[snip] Now, even though it’s perfectly normal behavior, this may bother some people, in some cultures. So they make their women wear hooded, shapeless sacks their entire lives. Yeah. Cuz that’s what I was really saying. “I am bothered by this ‘perfectly normal behavior’ so I must agree with other cultures who make their women wear shapeless sacks to prevent said behavior.” Look. I know men check out my ass. I’m well aware of it. But there’s knowing, and then there’s proof that it’s constant, even among men who see your ass every day. I dunno…I just assumed that after awhile, unless it was a _new_ ass, men would get bored with the asses they see every day. I catch men checking out my ass all day long; hell, my ass makes me money. I can’t get all outraged. I was just honestly a little thrown when I realized that my co-workers stare at my ass just as often as men who’ve never seen it before. I wasn’t horrified or appalled. Just a little surprised. And yeah, the Bat Signal was apparently a sign that I was actively seeking out the attention. Which is why it was removed. ---
**Author:** ![pervert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@pervert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pervert)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/79 "2004-05-12T23:00:51Z")
> [@Audrey Levins](#): > > I dunno…I just assumed that after awhile, unless it was a _new_ ass, men would get bored with the asses they see every day. Nope. I’m not even sure what getting bored and seeing asses could possibly have in common. A woman is a woman But a man ain’t nothin but a male. > [@](#): > > For some reason, Pervert’s post has me giggling like crazy. I’m picturing Stone Phillips doing a story. “Going Inside Incest: The Signals.” “Part of our indepth report on the current fetishist state in America.” Don’t they do this sort of thing all the time? Sweeps? ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482/80 "2004-05-12T23:19:26Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > **Bughunter** With a moniker like that, I’d think you often find people getting the wrong signal. Well, I do often find myself explaining how I’m not into entomology. Sorry, **Audrey** I did not at all mean to imply that you endorse cultural oppression of women… I just used the opportunity to take a free shot at fundamentalist fanatics in general. They’ve been getting on my nerves lately. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-signals-you-didnt-know-you-were-giving/244482.md?page=5)