Michael At the latest since the Tarantino film "Inglourious Basterds" in which an American spy gives himself away by ordering three beers with the wrong fingers, it should be clear that Americans and Germans use different finger signs.
The number one is signaled by Americans with an extended index finger, and for the number two, they form a peace sign with the index and middle fingers. In Germany, for the number one, people raise their thumb and add the index finger for the number two.
Things get really crazy with the number three: While Germans extend their thumb, index, and middle fingers, Americans use their index, middle, and ring fingers. This extremely challenging gesture can only be accomplished by ordinary people, who don't moonlight as contortionists in the circus, by crossing their little finger with their thumb and holding both firmly at the bottom (see illustration 1).
And what does it mean when you only raise the index finger and the little finger, while keeping the middle and ring fingers folded down? Correct, that is the signal for "Four beers for the men from the sawmill", of course!