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Discussion » Statements » Rosie's Corner » Another odd weird or weird odd. How did the "carrot and stick" theory begin? Why is it a CARROT that represents the lure/reward? A carrot?
RosieG

Another odd weird or weird odd. How did the "carrot and stick" theory begin? Why is it a CARROT that represents the lure/reward? A carrot?

Why not "a diamond and coal"?

Carrot? A lowly vegetable with some nutritious benefits but not the most outstanding among all vegetables in terms of anything by which you measure value or worth. Ordinary banal average and orange. Weirdly odd don't you think?.

I don't get it. You?

Posted - September 13, 2020
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Responses


  • 3719
    It goes back to using draught animals - horses, donkeys and mules. A carrot for encouragement, possibly the stick to hit the creature if the carrot fails - people were rather more casually cruel in those days.

    A common though probably apocryphal way to illustrate it showed a cart drawn by a donkey, with the driver using a long stick to dangle the carrot just in front of the donkey's face so the animal was forever stepping forwards to eat it, never reaching it but pulling the cart along as it tries. This survives in a version of the saying, that refers to "dangling a carrot...".
      September 13, 2020 2:14 PM MDT
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  • 113301
    Oh sure Durdle. Now that you mention it I've seen it in the movies all the time. Feeding a horse a carrot as a reward. I get it now. I wonder how a horse would react to a croissant or a cream puff? Thank you for your informative reply m'dear! :) This post was edited by RosieG at September 14, 2020 5:09 PM MDT
      September 14, 2020 2:41 AM MDT
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