Quote Origin: A Camel Is a Horse That Was Designed by a Committee

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Charles F. Kettering? Alec Issigonis? T. R. Quaife? Norris Cotton? Paul H. Gilbert? Jimmy Durante? Ed Byron? Georg Christoph Lichtenberg? Anonymous?

Illustration of two camels from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: When the opinions of committee members diverge significantly it becomes difficult to formulate a coherent consensus. This notion has been humorously expressed with a clever adage:

A camel is a horse designed by a committee.

U.S. inventor Charles F. Kettering and U.K. automotive designer Alec Issigonis have received credit for this saying, but I am skeptical because I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in “Reader’s Digest” magazine in September 1954 within a section titled “Toward More Picturesque Speech”. The word ‘horse’ was omitted; hence, the match was incomplete. Yet, the key idea was communicated with the words ‘camel’ and ‘committee’. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

A camel looks like something put together by a committee (T. R. Quaife)

Often sayings published in “Reader’s Digest” were reprinted in other periodicals and achieved wide distribution. For example, the saying above appeared in November 1954 within the “Stockton Evening Record” of Stockton, California. The newspaper acknowledged “Reader’s Digest”.2 The saying also appeared in the “Manchester Evening News” of Manchester, England. The newspaper acknowledged T. R. Quaife.3

In December 1957 the full quip with the word ‘horse’ appeared within a joke published in “Sports Illustrated” magazine:4

Child: Daddy, what is a camel?
Father: What is a what?
Child: What is a camel?
Father: A camel is a horse that was designed by a committee.

Thus, T. R. Quaife is the leading candidate for creator of the core expression using ‘camel’ and ‘committee’. An anonymous person improved the saying by adding the word ‘horse’.

Thematic precursors depicted the humorous transformation of animals such as the donkey, horse, camel, and cow. Below is an overview with dates representing the evolution of the joke:

1801: Der Esel kommt mir vor wie ein Pferd ins Holländische übersetzt. (Georg Christoph Lichtenberg) Translation: The donkey seems to me like a horse translated into Dutch.

1946 Feb: Daffynition: CAMEL: A warped horse. (Paul H. Gilbert)

1949 Nov: A camel is a horse that swallowed its saddle. (Attributed to Jimmy Durante)

1950 Oct: “What is your definition of a camel?” “That’s a cow upside down.” (Billy Glason)

1954 Sep: A camel looks like something put together by a committee (Attributed to T. R. Quaife in “Reader’s Digest”)

1955 Nov: Even a camel reminds you of an animal that was put together by a committee. (Anonymous)

1956 Feb: giraffe—it’s the kind of an animal that looks like it had been put together by a committee. (Anonymous)

1957 Apr: camel—a beast that looks as if it had been designed by a committee. (Anonymous)

1957 Dec: Child: What is a camel? Father: A camel is a horse that was designed by a committee. (Anonymous)

1958 Feb: A camel is a horse put together by a TV network planning board. (Credited to Ed Byron by Leonard Lyons)

1958 Mar: Heard the new definition of a camel? It’s a race horse designed by a committee. (Anonymous)

1958 Jul: The refreshed definition of a camel: a horse planned by a committee. (Anonymous)

1959 Jun: Definition of a camel: this is “a greyhound put together by a committee.” (Anonymous)

1961 Apr: A camel is a horse designed by a committee. (Attributed to Charles F. Kettering)

1964 Jul: The camel was an example of a horse designed by a committee. (Attributed to Alec Issigonis)

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

German physicist and satirist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg died in 1799. His writings were collected and published shortly after his death. The second volume in 1801 contained the following saying in German. One possible translation into English has been included below. The saying described the transformation of a horse into an animal with comical connotations:5

Der Esel kommt mir vor wie ein Pferd ins Holländische übersetzt.
The donkey seems to me like a horse translated into Dutch.

A separate Quote Investigator article about the saying immediately above is located here.

In February 1946 a syndicated newspaper column called “Daffynitions” by Paul H. Gilbert included a gag about the transformation of a horse into a camel:6

CAMEL: A warped horse.

In November 1949 the “Chicago Sunday Tribune” published a column called “Radio Gag Bag” which reprinted jokes obtained from contemporary radio broadcasts. A popular comedian received credit for a different joke about the transformation of a horse into a camel:7

A Jimmy Durante definition: A camel is a horse that swallowed its saddle.

In October 1950 several newspapers printed a story about the attempt to revive vaudeville. The entertainer Billy Glason supplied a joke about the transformation of a cow into a camel:8

“Here’s one for you. Did you ever hear my definition of a camel?”
“No, what is your definition of a camel?”
“That’s a cow upside down. Don’t let this fool ya, Folks, we’re only kidding each udder”

In September 1954 an important match occurred in “Reader’s Digest” magazine as mentioned at the beginning of this article. This instance presented the central idea although the word ‘horse’ was omitted:9

A camel looks like something put together by a committee (T. R. Quaife)

In November 1955 the joke evolved to use the word ‘animal’ instead of ‘something’:10

Even a camel reminds you of an animal that was put together by a committee.

In February 1956 a similar quip was made about a giraffe in a Blair, Nebraska newspaper:11

We get the same sort of feeling when we look at a giraffe — it’s the kind of an animal that looks like it had been put together by a committee.

In April 1957 an instance with the word ‘beast’ instead of ‘animal’ appeared in a Wilmington, Delaware newspaper:12

You’ve heard the description of a camel — a beast that looks as if it had been designed by a committee.

In December 1957 the full quip with the word ‘horse’ appeared in “Sports Illustrated’ magazine as mentioned previously:13

Father: A camel is a horse that was designed by a committee.

In 1958 an instance appeared in the collection “Reader’s Digest Treasury of Wit and Humor”. Thus, the attribution to Quaife continued to circulate:14

A camel looks like something put together by a committee (T. R. Quaife)

In February 1958 widely syndicated columnist Leonard Lyons reported a variant of the saying tailored to television. The name “Shor’s” referred to Toots Shor’s restaurant which was known for its prominent clientele:15

Ed Byron, the TV producer, sat in Shor’s the other day after a conference at a network office. “You know what a camel is?” he sighed “A camel is a horse put together by a TV network planning board.”

In March 1958 popular columnist Inez Robb reported a variant using ‘race horse’:16

… have you heard the new definition of a camel? It’s a race horse designed by a committee.

In July 1958 fashion magazine “Vogue” printed an instance using the word ‘planned’ instead of ‘designed’ or ‘put together’:17

The refreshed definition of a camel: a horse planned by a committee.

In March 1959 U.S. Senator Norris Cotton employed the full expression with the word ‘horse’, but Cotton disclaimed credit by using the phrase ‘schoolboy’s definition’:18

Cotton says the building is poorly planned and reminds him of a schoolboy’s definition of a camel — sort of a horse, put together by a committee.

In June 1959 “The New Scientist” of London printed an instance using ‘greyhound’ instead of ‘horse’:19

It is good occasionally to remember the definition of a camel: this is “a greyhound put together by a committee.” One must also try to avoid the stifling effects of bigness.

In April 1961 a U.S. Senate subcommittee held hearings about government patent policy. A statement from the company Anadite Inc. attributed the saying to U.S. engineer and inventor Charles F. Kettering:20

Our own experience is that the more people assigned to a given inventive task, the less chance they have to exercise either imagination or ingenuity. “A camel,” as C.F. Kettering is reputed to have said, “is a horse designed by a committee.”

In May 1962 “The New York Times” printed a letter which attributed the saying to ‘Kittering’ which was probably a misspelling of ‘Kettering’:21

Remembering Kittering’s definition of a camel as “a horse designed by a committee” I gave both an absolute free hand to follow their individual judgments and enthusiasms.

In July 1964 an article in “AJ: The Architects’ Journal” of London attributed the saying to British-Greek automotive designer Alec Issigonis:22

I believe it was Alec Issigonis who said that the camel was an example of a horse designed by a committee.

In conclusion, this saying evolved over time. Some precursor expressions in the 1940s and 1950s referred to the transformation of a horse into a camel but did not mention ‘committee’. In September 1954 T. R. Quaife received credit for a statement that omitted the word ‘horse’: “A camel looks like something put together by a committee”. In December 1957 a full instance with the word ‘horse’ appeared in “Sports Illustrated” without attribution. Thus, the creator of the full expression remains anonymous.

Appendix: Wiktionary in September 2023 contains an entry for “a camel is a horse designed by a committee”. The entry includes a citation dated 1952 in the book “Proceedings Regular Meeting, Ohio Valley Transportation Advisory Board”. However, this date is incorrect. The citation text is “A camel is a horse designed by a committee, so we hope that this committee will — and I think it will — function appropriately.” The 1952 date was probably based on an old unverified match in Google Books. The current match in Google Books indicates that the book appeared in 1969 or later.

Image Notes: Illustration of two camels from Sebastian Laube at Unsplash.

Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Jeff Braemer whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Also thanks to researcher Nigel Rees who pointed to the saying by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. Additional thanks to Barry Popik for his pioneering research. Popik located the 1957 “Sports Illustrated” citation and other helpful citations.

Update History: On May 10, 2024 the format of the bibliographical notes was updated. Also, the full article was placed on this website.

  1. 1954 September, Reader’s Digest, Volume 65, Number 389, Toward More Picturesque Speech, Quote Page 128, The Reader’s Digest Association, Pleasantville, New York. (Verified with hardcopy) ↩︎
  2. 1954 November 2, Stockton Evening Record, Section: Editorial Page, Scissors: A Roundup of Best Humor, Quote Page 30, Column 5, Stockton, California. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
  3. 1954 November 15, Manchester Evening News, Mr. Manchester’s Diary, Quote Page 4, Column 9, Manchester, Greater Manchester, England. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
  4. 1957 December 9, Sports Illustrated, Events & Discoveries, Start Page 22, Quote Page 23, Column 1, Time Inc., New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
  5. 1801, Georg Christoph Lichtenberg’s Schriften nach dessen Tode aus den hinterlassenen Papieren gesammelt und herausgegeben (Georg Christoph Lichtenberg’s writings collected and published after his death from the papers he left behind), Edited by Ludwig Christian Lichtenberg and Friedrich Kries, Volume 2, Quote Page 378, Göttingen in der Dieterichschen Buchhandlung. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
  6. 1946 February 21, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Daffynitions by Paul H. Gilbert, Quote Page 26, Column 2, Fort Worth, Texas. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
  7. 1949 November 13, Chicago Sunday Tribune, Radio Gag Bag culled by Larry Wolters, Quote Page B15, Column 1, Chicago, Illinois (ProQuest) ↩︎
  8. 1950 October 23, Danville Advocate-Messenger, Vaudeville Tries Again! by Wendy and Everett Martin, Quote Page 4, Column 4, Danville, Kentucky. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
  9. 1954 September, Reader’s Digest, Volume 65, Number 389, Toward More Picturesque Speech, Quote Page 128, The Reader’s Digest Association, Pleasantville, New York. (Verified with hardcopy) ↩︎
  10. 1955 November 26, The Bedford Daily Times-Mail, Al’s Analysis, Quote Page 1 Column 4, Bedford, Indiana. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
  11. 1956 February 9, The Pilot-Tribune, Brief Items from Neighboring Towns, Quote Page 4, Column 6, Blair, Nebraska. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
  12. 1957 April 12, Wilmington Morning News, Between Classes by Alan Edwards: Committees, Quote Page 22, Column 4, Wilmington, Delaware. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
  13. 1957 December 9, Sports Illustrated, Events & Discoveries, Start Page 22, Quote Page 23, Column 1, Time Inc., New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
  14. 1958, Reader’s Digest Treasury of Wit and Humor, Selected by the Editors of the Reader’s Digest, Quote Page 77, Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., Pleasantville, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
  15. 1958 February 18, Daily Defender, Lyons Den by Leonard Lyons, Quote Page 5, Column 1, Chicago, Illinois. (ProQuest) ↩︎
  16. 1958 March 25, San Angelo Standard-Times, Laughing at Tough Times: Texans Bearing Up Well In Their Year-Old Models by Inez Robb, Quote Page 4, Column 6, San Angelo, Texas. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
  17. 1958 July, Vogue, Volume 132, Issue 1, People Are Talking About, Start Page 44, Quote Page 44, Condé Nast, New York. (ProQuest) ↩︎
  18. 1959 March 16, Naugatuck Daily News, Senators Feel New Office Building Was Too Expensive by Frank Eleazer (UPI News Service), Quote Page 2, Column 6, Naugatuck, Connecticut. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
  19. 1959 June 18, The New Scientist, Volume 5, Number 135, The Scientific Outlook in Canada by Dr. E. W. R. Steacie, Start Page 1351, Quote Page 1352, Column 1, London, England. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
  20. 1961, Hearings Before the Subcommittee On Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights of the Committee On the Judiciary, United States Senate, Eighty-Seventh Congress, First Session, S. 1084 and S. 1176, Part 2, May 31, June 1, and June 2, 1961, Government Patent Policy, Statement by Anadite Inc. concerning, Patent Policy in Public Procurement, Date: April 12, 1961, Start Page 612, Quote Page 620, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
  21. 1962 May 6, The New York Times, Section: From the Mail Box, Letter from: Richard P. Wunder (Curator of Drawings and Prints at Cooper Union, New York), Section 2, Quote Page X21, Column 2, New York. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
  22.  1964 July 15, AJ: The Architects’ Journal, Volume 140, Number 3, Section: Letters, Letter from: Vernon W. McElroy of South Ruislip, Middx, Quote Page 135, Architectural Press Ltd, London, England. (Verified with scans) ↩︎