"Xeepzorp, it's not that complicated. The thumb-up is like crossing your eyestalks, and the middle-finger is like extruding your rectal tentacle."

Wait until they learn that the thumbs-up in some countries means what the middle finger does in the US...

It's not that complicated, aliens

The middle finger gesture was used in ancient times as a symbol of sexual intercourse, in a manner meant to degrade, intimidate and threaten the individual receiving the gesture. It also represented the phallus, with the fingers next to the middle finger representing testicles

It's a classic human cock-and-balls, simple as

Ah yes signs and symbols. Surely no alien ever has heard of those.

This made me realize that if we encounter aliens there is a non-zero chance there will be alien weebs that become obsessed with our culture and think it is superior.

The exam is explaining the difference between split index and middle finger palm forward and split index and middle finger back hand forward.

Seems like any aliens advanced enough to study us would very easily figure out that hand gestures are a form of communication.

Fun fact: cats sometimes respond similarly to humans when presented with the middle finger. Without training. And often it with cats that do hate it, it's that finger specifically and only that specific gesture.

I still have absolutely no idea why, but some cats just naturally react as if it's an offense towards them. Maybe they equate it to a tail raised straight?

My dog pisses on other dog's piss as a show of dominance. We're all weird.

Shit's regional, too, yo. For "fuck you", the brits use a gesture that's more akin to "eat my cunt".

Let's see how harmless it is when I jam it in your compound eye Mr. Kleezorp

"The gesture is an invitation for the adversary to put their middle finger in their own excreting orifice"
"Wow it must be painful for them!"
"They seem to have rather pleasant experience instead"
"Interesting..."

And some humans don't mind the middle finger at all and even react to it with bemusement!

Ya know I don't actually think having widely recognised hand signals with different meanings is all that weird.

Maybe it evolved to be harmless. Maybe it used to be the poison finger and now we instinctively try to poison each other.

If aliens exist (and they probably do,) they’d probably take one look at our incessant sat tv broadcasts and nope the fuck out.

Also, probably just stay away because they’d know we nuked ourselves. Multiple times. We’re psychopaths.

Well, the middle finger use to represent the ability to draw a bow. Unless I'm making shit up.

"You see, in france, the archers were getting their middle fingers cut off ... and that's why it's offensive."

"Is all that true?"

"Yes, the history is well documented. Billy from home room told Jessie in gym class..."