"In ancient Asia white elephants were extremely rare and regarded as holy animals. It was very expensive to keep one because the elephant required special food and its owner also had to serve the numerous pilgrims that would come to worship it. If a king was displeased with one of his administrators, he would give him a white elephant as a gift. The administrator could not refuse a gift from the king but the upkeep of the elephant could financially ruin its new owner. This is the origin of the expression "white elephant.""
from Do Fish Drink Water?
No comments:
Post a Comment