Alexx S Kay writes: > 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'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. That could have something to do with it. Hypothesis A) Shrugging is not "universally human" but is linked with english-speaking cultures. I grew up in Ecuador, and people shrugged there, as they do here. I have read that Japanese people shrug, too, so it seems it is not restricted to Western culture, either. rone -- "Alan Alda's all we are." - Kurt Cobain