Since the dawn of time, humans have communicated with one another with mediums of abundant variety. Verbal or non-verbal, overt or subtle, conscious or subconscious, no matter what language we speak, we always find a way to express ourselves. Perhaps, that is what differentiates us from the rest of the animal kingdom – the fact that we can find the deeper meaning within simple gestures and well, opposing thumbs of course.
Were you to unite an English speaker with a Mandarin speaker and challenge one to express something positive to the other, the mere gesture of offering a flower will fulfill the challenge. Such is the mind of a human being – one that breaks barriers and boundaries. Although you might think this to be an outstanding quality, it is one that we all possess innately and one that we have used since before humans formed language itself.
Gestures and offerings have been used since before human beings evolved from Neanderthals to the homo sapiens you see today. A male Neanderthal would offer food to the female and well, you know the rest of the story. Evolution has led to many different versions of this very story and perhaps, the Dutch Brothers’ straw code theory proves to be one iteration of many.