The Stork

[firefly]

Everyone knows that in the idea of being brought by a stork, the babies are wrapped in white cloth. Yet I read that babies were carried in knapsacks. Why was it changed from one to the other?

[Ember]

Time moves on, only last week I referred to a knapsack and was asked by an astounded grandchild what it was, on explaining I was informed with a deal of hauteur that what I meant was a backpack!

[sft42]

The Idea...you mean to tell me this isn't the way babies come about then? What have I been missing?

[Ewood27]

They come from supermarkets these days, sft. Haven't you seen people with a trolley full of shopping and a small child in the huilt-in seat? My local supermarket has signs above the aisles showing what is on the shelves, then smaller signs giving more of a breakdown. So you have "Chinese meals", "Traditional meals" etc, - and also "Babies"and "Toddlers".

I've no idea how much they are to buy, but the maintenance costs are quite high

[Maudlettice]

I am amazed that storks carrying babies in white cloth get through to any part of the country. A similar stork turning towards Luton would be immediately blasted to infinity. Only camouflaged storks with black or dark green cloths get through. The sole exception was a couple of years ago when a pinkish/white pigs head floated down and impaled itself atop the crescent surmounting the Luton mosque. Currently all Luton males point their bottoms towards the sky five times a day and ask Mohammed for a town football team - looking at Charlton, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd etc nothing white is expected from that, either. Ah well, inshallah, I suppose.

[davver]

Health and Safety regulations: the carrying of the baby in the white cloth was judged to put the stork at risk from beak and neck problems, so it was decreed that thenceforth they would have to carry the baby in a knapsack that offered all the necessary support. Babies can be quite heavy you know, especially if you have to carry them any distance.
Of course, in France babies come from cabbages, so there isn't the same problem.

[firefly]

I'm not sure if storks carrying knapsacks was a 'real myth' as it were, but surely if it was it would be before the white cloth-after all that's how storks carrying babies are pictured nowadays.