Where did thumbs up come from?
474254
Roman emperors used a thumbs up to allow a gladiator to live if he'd fought well. Thumbs down and it was curtains for the poor guy.\n\nMay be this is where we got the idea from.
831592
I would give you thumbs up but i cant\nreversible is correct
963125
No I gave you a thumbs up.\nMy pleasure
865180
It filters out responses that are below certain levels from the page view.\nIt means that the total net score of thumbs up and thumbs down is higher than -2.\nOnly answers with at least that great a rating will be shown.\nEven if an answer has 20 thumbs down, it would rate a -2 or greater if it had at least 18 thumbs up as well.\nLikewise, an answer with 20 thumbs up would not show if it had at least 22 thumbs down.
279145
If your answer is picked as the best answer you will get 10 points!  If that answer receives a thumbs up you will receive 1 point for each thumbs up!
24109
The origin of the term is disputed. One theory customarily held by persons not from New England claims that it originated from the Dutch in old New Amsterdam (today known as New York City) in the Mid-Atlantic States. It then was adopted by the British as a pejorative for (Northern) colonists. The origin might have been the phrase Jan Kees ("John Cornelius") (two very common Dutch names), which the English-speaking people picked up as "yankees", a word they used to refer to the Dutch.
999230
u asked the question twice buddy!!! if u r so eager to spend points.. why don't u give me some thumbs up's
1089455
100% Thumbs-up rating.\nL.O.L.\nHA! HA! HA!
875387
Unfortunately there is no law against idiocy.... and how did they get so many thumbs up with only 5 answers? Could happen legally, I suppose.
1178100
"What's up is an informal expression meaning "what are you doing", "how are you", or "what gives." This expression was made very popular by the cartoon Bugs Bunny who used it as early as 1940 as part of his catch phrase "What's up, Doc" (where each word was pronounced distinctly).\n\nWhassup (sometimes spelled Wussup or wuzzup) is also a commonly used African American Vernacular English term for what's up, and was the central theme of an advertising campaign for Anheuser-Busch owned "Budweiser" beer brand in the early 2000s.\n\nThe phrase is often shortened to "sup", and this term is commonly used as an Internet slang. It's very common when playing MMORPG to read people typing "sup bro?" ("What's up brother?").\n\nAmong Mexican-American street gangs in California, including the Norteños and Sureños, the phrase "what's up" means "there's going to be a fight" when opposing rival gangs confront each other."
793676
Sorry you've had such rubbish answers. \n\nI'm usually quite good at this sort of thing, but I'm afraid I can't find any info on the origins of this phrase.\n\nI hope someone more knowledgeable answers you soon!
1170816
This originated in the early 1980s. It is generally regarded as an American expression. This item from the New York newspaper the Syracuse Herald-American, Feb. 1982, which is the earliest version in print that I can find, puts that in some doubt. It's in a piece by Jerry Buck, writing out of Los Angeles, about actress Lauren Tewes
627130
This expression originated in the United States in about 1900. The phrase may have some Latin connection. When a Roman boy was in trouble, he cried ‘patrue mi Patruissime’ (‘Uncle my best of uncles’).
63175
Your ass! Where the hell do you think it comes from?
897248
The people that are giving you the low ratings tend to view the bible as the be-all, end-all of their existence, and "god" forbid if its not yours.  These are the same people who will support freedom of speech and religion, yet scream and cry persecution when you exercise those rights, but don't agree with them.\n\nHonestly, don't worry about them.  You've come to a site that encourages people to show their knowledge and express their beliefs.  The thumbs up/down ratings don't have any real bearing on anything here.  Sometimes 10 thumbs down are better than 1 thumbs up anyway; controversy is usually a sign that you gave someone something to think about, whether or not they agree with you.
286743
The more points you have, the more you can ask questions, answer questions, rate answers and give thumbs up & down.  See here:  http://answers.yahoo.com/info/scoring_system;_ylt=Arm8YA88hBnZ90XowJkDXhc_zKIX
162965
The "V" (two fingers up) sign stood initially for "victory", but the hippies adapted it to peace.\nThe other peace sign (circle with lines) originated in the fact that hippies disregarded the modern world. Thus they took a modern, industrial sign (the one of Mercedes-Benz), and modified it in order to symbolize something they stood for.\nAll in all we can see that hippies weren't very original at all.