I thought that was miming cunnilingus, i.e. a rude gesture.
I’ve also read about showing the sole of your shoe or the bottom of your foot being considered insulting in Arab/Muslim cultures. When U.S. troops were flying over Mogadishu in 1992-93 with their legs and feet hanging outside helicopters, apparently many of the locals down below didn’t like it. And when Saddam Hussein’s big statue was toppled in central Baghdad in 2003, the delighted crowd pelted it with their shoes.
From my travels around Thailand, it seems the feet are the dirtiest part of the body and the head the most sacred. Showing the soles of your feet to the Buddha statues is extremely offensive. Putting feet up on a desk etc, especially in a polite situation is rude, although I would find that rude in my home also. Patting anyone, children or otherwise, on the head is a no-go.
In Australia, it used to be obscene, especially if done with an upward motion. The two fingers could be in a ‘V’ or held together. It was a direct equivalent of the American middle finger sign. It unequivocally meant “up yours”. You’ll seldom see anybody under about forty years old do it now though, because the American single digit sign has taken over.
True story: George Bush Snr serenely made the gesture through the limo window to the people of Sydney when he came out here during his presidency. I assume his minders had forgotten to tell him that peace, victory, “it’s cool, man” or whatever he was trying to say should always be done palm-outwards in Australia. It was a wonderfully surreal piece of diplomacy having the POTUS calmly and unashamedly telling the public of an allied nation to go and fuck themselves.
Chefguy, that Vietnamese vagina gesture is surprisingly difficult to do. I have trouble hooking my middle finger over my first finger. I think you need years growing up in a Vietnamese school yard to master it. The Vietnamese guys I know can do it easily.
What did the Jews (and Arabs?) do - physically - and what did they mean, when in the Bible they shook the dust from their sandals Or was this already posted in this thread?
Sad, isn’t it… it’s the same in NZ – when I was a little kid the 2-fingered-salute was the standard offensive gesture – now the US version is. sniff Another bit of culture lost. 
Well, he’s in good company at least… Winston Churchill was known to use both gestures… but then perhaps he was sending a message to someone other than his allies.
In Greece the equivalent of the ‘fuck you’ gesture is an open palm, fingers spread - you throw your fingers out as your arm moves in the direction that you want the gesture to go, and the hand ends up at about a 45 degree angle. Done with both hands for emphasis, or for real effect by slamming one palm in to the back of the other.
I don’t know what the true derivation of this is, but have been told it’s showing the ‘evil eye’ to someone (the eye being represented by your palm with fingers for eyelashes). Belief in the ‘eye’ is fairly widespread.
Confirmed. That is correct. If you really want to piss people off, wave your foot at them.
When I was younger, there were two versions of “Giving someone the finger(s)”
The “Reverse V” meant “Up Yours” and wasn’t especially obscene; it could be quite playful and often had “Nya nya nya nya!” connotations attached to it. 
(cf many episodes of Red Dwarf for this use of the two fingers gesture)
The Middle Finger, however, was an unequivocal “Go Fuck Yourself”, and was the Nuclear Warhead of obscene gestures.
Of course, it’s a totally different kettle of fish when your friends are involved… 
Any truth to the supposedly Italian gesture of pulling on your tie, meant to indicate “your wife gave me this tie”?
In Cameroon, the standard way to call someone over was to put your palm down and gesture like “goodbye”. This was accompanied by a good loud hiss, and occasionally kissy noises. This was something I really had to wean myself off when I left.
I’ve always liked the Russian ‘fuck you’, backwards peace sign pressed up against your neck as seen in Eastern Promises and Day Walkers.
I had a very slapstick experience getting gas the other day – the guy kept keying in the wrong amount, and every time he fixed it, he got it slightly wrong. After finally getting the amount of gas I’d paid for, I wanted to give him a thumbs-up, but couldn’t for the life of me remember which culture took offense at that. So I went back to window and said, “Thank you.”
In the past couple of years, I’ve completely stopped using my left hand when doing business with strangers. It’s a difficult thing to remember, having spent my whole life thinking that they were both perfectly good hands.
For some reason, I remember this nutty-professor type person I worked with who was so lost in his head that he’d occasionally scratch his balls in meetings. He was completely clueless that he was doing it. He’s from Pennsylvania.
I used to know a surgeon who would constantly adjust things. Problem was, he would leave talc (from the surgical gloves he just removed) handprints all over his green groin. Also a Pennsylvanian!
I heard of this guy who was just named the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States. Where was he born? Pennsylvania!
Holy crap! They went and elected Jeff Goldblum!!! I knew it would happen, just damn well knew it!!!
Do you bite your thumb at me, sir?
Making a loose fist with just the pinky raised is generally interpreted as “teeny peeny” or, if wiggled, “gay”.
This might be regional to just Finland or Scandinavia. I’ve never seen it used or referred to anywhere else.
That sounds a bit like the “C’mere” gesture that my Indonesian parents grew up using – extend hand palm down, fingers flattened together, flap your hand like you’re trying to rake the target in. As I understand it, the palm up gesture that US folks use was considered impolite.
Not obscene, but can be used in an insulting way, so is relevant because it could be something you want to avoid in sensitive company: either scratch your chin repeatedly, or drum your fingers on your chin. That means ‘you’re lying.’ Often accompanied by the phrases ‘chinny chinny chinny!’ or ‘Jimmy Hill!’ depending on where you’re from.
No, sir, but I do bite my thumb.
Both my mother (70) and mother-in-law (65) use the thumbs up gesture in a single vertical jerk to communicate their disapproval to other motorists (usually accompanied by razz sound effect). As noted above, however, the common Australian gesture is the British V, currently transitioning to the US mid-digit “bird”.