Camel, I Did

You may remember Joe Camel from the Camel cigarette advertising campaigns dating from 1987 to 1997.  After all, he is indisputably the most famous camel to have never lived (probably tops among the breathing variety as well, unless you can name a few off the top of your head).  But while all his friends seemed to agree Joe Camel was pretty much the coolest guy around, how much do you really know about Joe Camel?

Joe Camel was first caricatured in 1974 by British artist Billy Coulton, later used in a French ad campaign running internationally throughout the late 70’s.  Though his initial purpose was not to sell cigarettes, the inspiration for the original Joe Camel drawing was in fact a carton of Camel smokes.   The camel on the carton was commonly known as “Old Joe” around the company, so to commemorate its 75^th anniversary of Old Joe, the new Joe Camel advertising campaign was introduced in the United States in 1987. Continue Reading »

Trying to stick to a healthy, yet delicious, diet, but traditional dairy milk seems to be standing in your way?  Don’t worry, this isn’t a thinly veiled plug for soy milk, but there may soon be another alternative to your bovine beverage issues.  The European Union health officials recently cleared the way for the United Arab Emirates to begin exporting camel milk.  After a thorough examination of the milking facilities, camel milk could soon find its way to grocery store shelves across Europe, with the United States and Asia expected to follow in the not too distant future.  The Dubai based company Camelicious (yes, this is the real company name, not to mention a pretty sweet replacement nickname if you’ve been saddled with “Quasimodo”) hopes that more Western countries will soon follow suit, making camel milk easily accessible in major markets worldwide. Continue Reading »

It’s no surprise to see a statue of a famous war hero or general perched atop a noble steed, but how surprised might you be to find that his hoofed friend had humps?  Cavalry operations have been common among in military outfits since nearly the beginning of warfare, predated by only infantry and chariotry, playing famous roles in countless conflicts whether part of the Roman Legion or Civil War troops.  Soldiers have actually found themselves riding on the back of many beasts over the centuries.  Hannibal, a Carthaginian general, was elephant aided in his from trek from the Iberian Peninsula across the Pyrenees and Alps mountain ranges to the boot of Italy.  Camels of course, with their propensity for hauling heavy objects and endurance to travel great distances even under stressful conditions, were not left out of arsenal come wartime. Continue Reading »

Next time you go to the store to grill out steaks, sausages or burgers, consider picking up a slab of camel meat.  Of course, unless you live down under, it’s highly unlikely your local grocery store would carry camel, but some Australian food stores do, in fact, have such meat in all three of the aforementioned varieties.  Camels are so overpopulated in the arid regions of the Outback that the government is doing its best Chick-fil-A cow impersonation, urging its citizens to “Eat More Camel.”  The quickly growing camel populations already include over 1 million camels roaming wild, causing major problems for Australian Aboriginal communities.  The animals tend to travel in aggressive packs, making it difficult, particularly for Aboriginal women who rarely carry or operate weaponry, to venture unprotected into the countryside for fear of being attacked or trampled.  The large herds of camels have also been known to stampede over sacred sites and contaminate age old watering holes with heightened levels of excrement. Continue Reading »

Though yet to break through to the Kentucky Derby or Belmont Stakes, camel racing is a popular spectator sport in many nations outside the United States, particularly desert nations where riding a camel might be a more common occurrence.  Despite what Hollywood would have you believe, with slow moving scenes of camel-led travelers traversing sandy hills at mere meters per hour, a full-sprint camel is among the faster beasts in the animal kingdom.  At top speed, the average camel runs at close to 40 miles per hour.  By comparison, this is not too far off the pace of much smaller racing animals, generally sporting a more sleek, aerodynamic frame than their camel counterparts.  Greyhounds, common racers at American dog tracks, reach a top speed of 43 miles per hour, while the average quarter horse bests the camel by 7 and a half miles per hour. Continue Reading »