its always said the straw that broke the camals back but when you think about it there could be alot of straw on his back and it could have been the first straw that broke his back or the last or one,or the middle or maybe it wasnt the straw it could have been the wind that was to strong and on which trip did it brake was he young and just started carring straw and broke his back after 15 trips carring straw or was he old and fell as soon as the straw was put on his back who put the straw on his back? they never say the straw that broke his back because the farmer threw it on him. and why is it the "straw" that broke the camals back who puts single straw on a camals back isnt it in stacks so it won't fall? did they kill the camal afterwards because of his back ? and who uses camals to carry straw dont they use donkeys and ox for that ?and dont camals have humps so was it one hump that broke or both? and is this one of those undecide questions that will never ever have a answer to?
2006-07-06 03:22:59 · 18 answers · asked by tahsui876 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
Ok, LOOOLLOOLL, I can see you have given this a lot of thought! It was the writer of the fable who chose a camel instead of a donkey or an ox. There's a reason the saying is that it was "the last straw that broke the camel's back". Camels are very strong beasts of burden, and straw is very light, as you know. The point of the fable is to show how how overloaded with straw the camel was. So much so that something as light and insignificant as one final straw is what broke his back. You've seen the same thing in commercials where there's a pile of rocks, but one little feather landing on them is what makes all the rocks topple over.
2006-07-06 04:18:21 · answer #1 · answered by ? 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It is always the last straw that breaks the camels back since he was able to hold the previous ones just fine. And the reason why the camel is used is because they might not have any other animal to carry the load such as a donkey or an ox. Maybe the camel was so young that his back wasn't strong enough to carry the one last straw. Some camels have one hump, some have two. That's what they store their water in. Believe it or not?
2006-07-06 12:15:05 · answer #2 · answered by windandwater 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When a load is too heavy for a camel, he will refuse to carry it by lying on the ground, or knealing like they do. It doesn't take a lot, but once they get there, they are not likely to get back up again, even if you lighten the load. As for "the straw" that broke the camel's back, it's an exaggeration of how little it takes before a camel decides its too much.
2006-07-06 10:26:35 · answer #3 · answered by dark_storm73 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It seems my children are the only ones who have the true answer to that question. As I recall, I had that answer also when I was little but now I don't remember. I recall on several occasions my mother telling me....Ok that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I always felt so sorry for the camels, yet I don't recall seeing any camels nor placing any straws on his/her back. I guess you only do it as a child and then you forget. LOL
2006-07-06 12:44:26 · answer #4 · answered by Elizabeth P 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The story never happened, it is an 'idiom.' "The straw that broke the camel's back" is 'figurative language,' a gross exaggeration meaning that one has had 'all he is going to take.'
The straw that broke the camel's back figuratively refers to..."The Last Straw!"
H
2006-07-06 11:10:06 · answer #5 · answered by H 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was the last straw that broke the camel's back, not the leaviest one or the lightest one. Just the last one. Gee you have entirely toooo much time on your hands to ponder this ad nauseum!
2006-07-06 15:30:13 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it was the last straw.
it wasn't the first one because a camel can handle one straw, the same goes for all the other ones that weren't last.
so i guess you could say it wasn't any single straw that broke the camels back but it was all of them put together
2006-07-06 11:19:19 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's the last straw which caused the increase in weight which finally caused the failure of his back. camels carry all kinds of things in places where they don't have donkeys or oxen or in deserts where camels are better suited for labor than the other animals.
2006-07-06 10:27:52 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it was the final straw. He could hold no more and the final straw broke his back.
2006-07-06 10:28:31 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was the last one.
2006-07-06 11:00:16 · answer #10 · answered by Mark 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋