General Memes & Private Chuckle

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What's the strangest you've seen? (piefed.cdn.blahaj.zone)

submitted 3 days ago by LadyButterfly@piefed.blahaj.zone to c/Memes@lemmy.dbzer0.com

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[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 17 points 2 days ago (1 children)

From Wikipedia

In the past, lower grade white elephants were given as gifts to the king's friends and allies. The animals needed a great deal of care and, being sacred, could not be put to work, so were a great financial burden on the recipient; only the monarch and the very rich could afford them. According to one story, white elephants were sometimes given as a present to some enemy (often a lesser noble with whom the king was displeased). The unfortunate recipient, unable to make any profit from it, and obliged to take care of it, would suffer bankruptcy and ruin.

So the only correct answer is obviously to start a rebellion and overthrow the king.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 days ago

If this works, it's a flex of the king's power. The other person is bankrupted and the elephant is cared for until that happens.

On the other hand, this could also show that the king has lost a power struggle. Imagine if that lesser noble announced to the court that the king had bestowed on him a great gift, and that all the members of the court were welcome to come to the noble's estate and leave gifts for the king's elephant.

If the nobles did that, it would be a sign to the king that the court was sick of his bullshit and his rule might be in trouble. Just like he couldn't just order a noble to be punished outright and had to gift them a white elephant instead, the king presumably also couldn't forbid his court from giving gifts to this noble to help care for the elephant.