10 Things That Wouldn't Exist Without Leonard Nimoy
2. Live Long And Prosper
Nimoy had a lot of thoughts about Spock, in fact. Along with providing him with his signature fighting move and being there for the entire process of deciding just how pointy the character's ears and eyebrows should be, he was behind some of the character's most iconic traits, the ones that have seeped through into popular culture the way only cult classics like Star Trek can. Besides the Vulcan nerve pinch, Nimoy is responsible for Spock's other major export to pop culture: the live long and prosper catchphrase paired with the salute where he makes his fingers into a V shape (which apparently was so difficult for other actors, from Shatner to Zachary Quinto as the new Spock, they had to glue their fingers together). In fact the actor stole the gesture and phrase from Judaism, as they're both things done by Hebrew ministers that he remembered from trips to his grandfather's synagogue at the time. The phrase comes from the Jewish prayer: May the Lord bless and keep you and may the Lord cause his countenance to shine upon you. May the Lord be gracious unto you and grant you peace, with the accompanying spoken blessing, Live long and prosper.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/