Nicoladis and colleagues studied one and two-hand counting gestures and cultural differences between Germans and French and English Canadians. While the majority of Germans use their thumb to begin to sequentially count, the majority of Canadians, both French and English, use their index finger as the numerical kick-off point when counting with their hands.

However, Nicoladis noted that some French Canadians also displayed anomalous differences from their Canadian or even their German counterparts.

“They show a lot more variation in what they are willing to use in terms of gestures, suggesting there might be some influence from the European French manner of gesturing (whose gestures are identical to the Germans’), or possibly other cultures too,” she said. “This association suggests that there are some cultural artifacts left over from these older French gestures and that they have been replaced because of the cultural contact with English Canadians.”

I have a new article up today on comment magazine‘s website, about my favorite (or as they say in Canadian, favourite) fruit, the mangosteen. The catch to my favoritism: I’ve never actually tasted one.

And as if that weren’t enough, they’ve got a dozen or so world music sampler albums available for free download, including this eight-song compliation from the always-inspiring Soweto Gospel Choir. Did I mention it’s free?