Andrew Lias wrote: > Just out of curiosity, where are you from? I'm genuinely curious > because I've never heard of anyone who wasn't familiar with the gesture. I should clarify; I'm not unfamiliar with the gesture, I'm only curious what it means to other people. To me, a shrug is almost always accompanied by a smile or a goofy facial expression, which is why I view it as a lighthearted gesture. Judging by the responses I've gotten so far, I'm in the minority. ;) I'm not sure whether my upbringing has anything to do with my perception of the shrug, especially since I was an Air Force brat and grew up all over the world. Although, when my dad left the Air Force, I spent about six years living in Texas (where I was born), and then moved to Oregon, where I've lived ever since. If there was any regional influence, I'd guess it would have come from my parents, who were Texans. Hmm. It would be interesting to learn where the rest of you are from. I wonder if we could find a pattern here. -- Ryan Grove ryan at wonko.com http://wonko.com/