Ryan Grove wrote: > > 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. I'm from outside Boston MA - and I've seen people from several very different people shrug. Jacob