by this metric. Hitchhikers in the West traditionally use a thumb gesture to solicit rides from oncoming vehicles. However, in this presentation, the arm is generally outstretched with the palm and closed fingers facing the motorist. The gesture is usually performed with the hand nearest the motorist and points down the road, indicating the hopeful destination. A hitchhiker may wave the hand, emphasizing the directional meaning. This is similar to the "thumb towards the door" gesture, for "get out of here!" In scuba diving, the thumbs-up gesture is a specific diving signal given underwater, in which the diver indicates that he or she is about to stop his or her dive and ascend. This occasionally confuses new divers, who might automatically gesture thumbs-up when trying to indicate approval—actually indicating a desire to stop diving and to ascend. The diving signal for approval is the A-ok sign. In basketball, when a held ball occurs, an official will jerk both thumbs in the air, signalling that a jump ball is in order. In baseball, umpires will sometimes jerk a thumbs-up over their shoulder as an "out" signal Amusement park rides such as roller coasters are usually cleared for departure using a thumbs-up signal from the workers after inspection that all safety precautions have been taken. The Indian cola brand Thums Up, now owned by The Coca-Cola Company, is named after this symbol and uses it as its logo. Texas A&M University uses a thumbs-up as their Gig 'em hand signal, as it represents the action of gigging. The gesture and corresponding slogan "Gig 'em, Aggies!" were popularized in the early 20th century, becoming the first hand sign of the Southwest Conference. Unicode Unicode code points related to thumb signals include: Other encodings Many keyboard emoticons utilize the shapes of lowercase "b" and "d" to represent a thumbs-up sign. Simple versions incorporate a dash for the wrist: -b (right hand) and d- (left hand). Many Japanese kaomoji icons place the thumbs beside a face constructed from punctuation marks, such as d(＾＾)ｂ or b(~_^)d. Various instant messaging services use (y) and (n) as a shortcut for thumbs up and thumbs down emoji. See also OK (gesture) Finger (gesture) References Hand gestures Fingers