A Random thing to know

The expression 'white elephant gift' comes from South-East Asia, where white elephants were believed to be sacred.  It was considered a terrible transgression to force these animals to do any kind of work.  Receiving a white elephant as a gift was a sign of great favor, but was also a heavy burden since the animal had to be fed and cared for but could not do any work to offset the cost of its upkeep.