Boing Boing

Boing Boing

Camel-racing robots wear perfume so the camels accept them

Ellsworth Toohey
Jul 06, 2026
∙ Paid

robot jockey — Alex Sergeev (www.asergeev.com) / CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikipedia)

Camel racing in the Gulf states once ran on child jockeys — “usually boys around the age of four,” according to Wikipedia. “Often, the boys would be starved to be as light as possible,” and “there was an active child slave trade for camel jockeys.” After international condemnat…

User's avatar

Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Boing Boing.

Or purchase a paid subscription.
© 2026 Happy Mutants LLC · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture