While growing up there's something my folks used to say that's always puzzled me. I've even said it to my kids. And you've probably said it to yours. It usually happened when we were very young and hadn't learned all the etiquette of life. But I can clearly remember seeing someone dressed or acting strange, pointing at them and my mother slapping my hand and saying: "Billy, it's not polite to point." I've never understood why. So I did a little research.

SwissAir Gazette says: "Pointing at objects is not considered rude, and useful for foreign nationals who don't know the name of something. Pointing at people is not polite, perhaps because of its use in court, to point out wrongdoers."

Another spot, which I forgot to write down, reports: "In some cases pointing someone out can even get y…