Have you ever wanted to know the origins of the middle finger?

Well, after doing some research, watching a program on the History Channel, and deciding for my own, here is what I have come up with.

Long long ago, before the invention of gunpowder, battles were being fought using bow and arrows. Anyhow, so the French and English have long had a history of wars between them.

In 1415, before the Battle of Agincourt, the French were anticipating a great victory over the English.  The French proposed to cut off the middle fingers of all captured English soldiers, thus making it impossible for the English soldiers to draw the renowned longbow and making them incapable of fighting in the future. This famous weapon was made of the native English yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew."

In an act of defiance, the English soldiers began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers.  The English went on to win a major upset at the battle.