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Wake-up Brain!. Lateral Thinking. A man cut off the first and second fingers on the right hand of six other men. Why?. Clues. The man who cut off the fingers was French. He was not a criminal or a sadist. The six men who were his victims were all English . Clues.
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Wake-up Brain! Lateral Thinking
A man cut off the first and second fingers on the right hand of six other men. • Why?
Clues The man who cut off the fingers was French. He was not a criminal or a sadist. The six men who were his victims were all English.
Clues • The men who lost their fingers were prisoners of war. • When they were captured they knew that they would probably lose their fingers.
Final Clue: • The men who lost their fingers all had a particular skill which they could now no longer practice.
Answer: • The men who lost their fingers were English archers. During the Hundred Years War between France and England, English archers using their longbows posed a significant military threat to the French. They were largely responsible for the English victory at the battle of Agincourt in 1415. The French declared that any English archer that was caught would have his index and second finger cut off, thereby incapacitating him. Incidentally, English archers often waved their two fingers at French opponents as a sign of derision. This is the source of the gesture that is still used to this day. • BTW-How long did the 100 Years War last?