Thumbs signal

A thumbs-up or thumbs-down is a common hand gesture achieved by a closed fist held with the thumb extended upward or downward in approval or disapproval, respectively. These gestures have become metaphors in English: "The audience gave the movie the thumbs-up" means that the audience approved of the movie, regardless of whether the gesture was actually made.

Origins

The source of the gesture is obscure, but a number of origins have been proposed.

Opposable thumbs

Carleton S. Coon, having observed Barbary apes in Gibraltar using the gesture, hypothesised in the anthropological classic The Story of Man that it is a mutual celebration of having opposable thumbs. Critics have suggested, however, that the apes may be simply imitating humans.

Ancient Rome

The Latin phrase pollice verso is used in the context of gladiatorial combat for a hand gesture used by Ancient Roman crowds to pass judgment on a defeated gladiator. However, the precise type of gesture described by the phrase pollice verso and its meaning are unclear in the historical and literary record.

Thumbs Up (newspaper)

Thumbs Up (Chinese: 大拇指) is a Chinese newspaper published in Singapore for school children. It was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong (Current Prime Minister) on 15 January 2000. Most primary schools in Singapore subscribe to the newspaper for their Chinese students, to improve their Chinese language.

The newspaper reports both international and local news. There is a section with mock examination questions to help students prepare for examinations. The newspaper also promotes Arts education by featuring art pieces selected by local artistic guides. Mr Tan Swie Hian, a well known local artist, was the first artistic guide for the newspaper. The newspaper also organise Arts workshops and competitions annually. The Arts education sections of the paper is supported and endorsed by the National Arts Council Singapore.

The newspaper also has a section for fun and games which features Chinese comics contributed by readers, as well as a weekly cartoon story on the mascot of the paper.

David Choe

David Choe (born April 21, 1976) is an American figure painter, muralist, graffiti artist and graphic novelist of Korean descent. His figure paintings, which explore themes of desire, degradation, and exaltation, are characterized by a raw, frenetic tone that he has termed "dirty style." In the graffiti world, he is identified with the bucktoothed whale he has been spray-painting on the streets since he was in his teens. David also hosts DVDASA (Double Vag Double Anal Sensitive Artist), a lifestyle, relationship and entertainment podcast with co-host Asa Akira.

Work

Choe's work appears in a wide variety of urban culture and entertainment contexts. For example, he provided the cover art for Jay-Z and Linkin Park's multi-platinum album Collision Course, and created artwork to decorate the sets of Juno and The Glass House. In 2005, internet entrepreneur Sean Parker, a longtime fan, asked him to paint graphic sexual murals in the interior of Facebook's first Silicon Valley office, and in 2007, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg commissioned him to paint somewhat tamer murals for their next office. Although he thought the Facebook business model was "ridiculous and pointless," Choe, a habitual gambler, chose to receive company stock in lieu of cash payment for the original Facebook murals. His shares were valued at approximately $200 million on the eve of Facebook's 2012 IPO. Those murals were loosely re-created by Choe's friends Rob Sato and Joe To for the set of the film The Social Network. During the 2008 presidential race, Choe painted a portrait of then-Senator Barack Obama for use in a grassroots street art campaign. The original was later displayed in the White House.