Question: where did the expression flipping the bird come from

title: The finger
text: The NME Awards , an annual music awards show in the UK , uses an extended middle finger design in the trophy handed out to the winners . Many musical artists , including Madonna , Lady Gaga , Eminem , Ariana Grande , Katy Perry , and Adele have publicly made the gesture . Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea have given the gesture towards members of the paparazzi , but had to apologize when fans interpreted the gesture as directed at them . M.I.A. gave the gesture during the Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show . The National Football League , NBC , and M.I.A. apologized . The CD itself for Kid Rock 's album Devil Without a Cause is a picture of his raised middle finger . On the cover of Moby Grape 's first album , Moby Grape , band member Don Stevenson was caught flipping the bird at the camera . The finger was airbrushed out of subsequent releases of the album .