Grand Avenue by Mike Thompson for December 19, 2020

  1. Michael thorton
    Michael Thorton  about 4 years ago

    Fun facts:

    1. A white elephant with six tusks was a recurring dream for the Indian provincial queen who gave birth to the young prince who would eventually grow up to be the Buddha.

    2. Leukocystic elephants are enough of a rarity that they have been given divine association in Indian mythology. Their involvement with the Buddha’s origin story spread this association wherever Buddhism was adopted.

    3. As a result of the above, Thai monarchs extended the Kerala tradition of elephant worship to their own elephants. As a result, white elephants were kept for ceremonial purposes only and could not be put to work like ordinary gray elephants. This often included massages and a special diet, as leukocystic elephants were often found to be fragile.

    4. As such, whenever a courtier incurred the wrath of a monarch, he would be presented with a white elephant. His “elephant-sitting” period would typically leave him in severe financial straits as he could not put the animal to work nor feed it normal fodder. The “sitter” period expired whenever the unfortunate courtier could no longer afford the upkeep, and the monarch would repossess the animal, leaving the courtier burning with humiliation and penury.

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    [Unnamed Reader - 8bb645]  about 4 years ago

    Either a hippopotamus or their two front teeth?

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    whenlifewassimpler  about 4 years ago

    OK I looked up White Elephant Gift Exchange and here’s what it is:White Elephant Rules & How to Play

    Trade & Steal: Each participant puts their wrapped gift under the tree, then takes a number. The person who drew 1 opens a present. The person who drew 2 can steal the first gift or open a new one. If your gift is stolen, you choose another gift.

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    david_42  about 4 years ago

    An additional rule that we played with: If you get the White Elephant (clock), you were stuck with it until the next year’s exchange.

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    LeftCoastKen Premium Member about 4 years ago

    Channeling Gayla Peevey …

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    carlosrivers  about 4 years ago

    Love that song too…

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    bonita.eley  about 4 years ago

    Only a Hippopotamus will do

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    ekke  about 4 years ago

    True history: White elephants were albinos, and very very rare in Siam. If the king wanted to bankrupt one of his nobility but mask it as an act of kindness, he would give the noble a rare white elephant. The recipient couldn’t get rid of it, and its upkeep was prohibitively expensive.

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