The expression White Elephant is used to describe something useless that has, or will, become a great burden to those who possess it. The origins of the phrase lie in Thailand, in the days when it was known as Siam. According to legend, white elephants were so highly prized that whenever one was found it automatically belonged to the King. It was a grave offence to neglect, put to work or even to ride a white elephant so they were of no use to an owner, yet still highly revered. The King would give a white elephant to certain subjects causing him displeasure as a special royal gift. The subject would have to care for the elephant, but it couldn't be put to work to pay its way and so such gifts could ruin a man. The phrase arrived in England in the 1700s with the Empire builders, who would apply it to expensive but otherwise useless public buildings or monuments.