The Camel

Corbett | November 4, 2005 4:01 AM

A Belgian friend stopped by last night, and we were talking about why she smokes Camel cigarettes, since you can't get them here any more (apparently they didn't sell well here because Chinese think camels are dirty animals).

This stands against reason, because there is now a regular TV commercial with a camel selling vapor gum with "Xylitol" which is really a sugar alcohol produced from white birch trees. (Which by the way is what Leo Fender used to make his dove-tailed Fender amp cabinets back in the fifties). FWIW, corn cobs are also a source of xylose.

Anyway, this friend stops by, and we are discussing Camel cigarettes, and it turns out that Camel is a very popular brand for Belgians. It also turns out that at least three heads of cigarette companies in Taiwan are run, or were run by Belgians.

Still, this doesn't explain the Camel/Belgian connection, until you stare closely at the camel on the package. There on the front leg is an image of a boy pissing, who anyone knows is The Mannekin Pis, the famous Belgium Pee-Pee Boy.

So apparently this is why Belgiums like to smoke Camel cigarettes, or says my friend, as she puffs away.

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