Camel

A dromedary: one hump, built for deserts, domesticated for thousands of years.

The dromedary, or Arabian camel, is the camel of the Sahara, the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, and it is almost entirely a domestic animal: a pack animal, mount, milk and meat source for Bedouin and other desert peoples. It earned the nickname “ship of the desert” by carrying loads for days across dry country with little water. In the United Arab Emirates and Oman camel racing is a major sport, and camels run all through classic Arabic poetry and proverbs.

The hump is the giveaway. It holds fat, not water, and a dromedary draws on that reserve when food is scarce, then drinks enormous amounts in minutes when it finds water. Long eyelashes, closable nostrils and wide, padded feet finish the desert kit.

What does it mean when someone sends 🐪?

Usually a trip, a desert or the heat; on Wednesdays, a pun.

Many 🐪 messages are literal: a camel ride on holiday in Morocco, Egypt, Jordan or Dubai, a zoo visit, or a way of saying “it is as hot and dry as a desert here”. It can also tag Middle Eastern and North African settings in general, from a travel itinerary to a themed party.

The Wednesday use comes from American English. “Hump Day” is Wednesday, the hump in the middle of the working week, a phrase in use since at least the 1950s; a 2013 TV commercial with a talking camel strolling through an office asking “Guess what day it is?” made the camel its mascot. So a 🐪 arriving midweek, especially with “happy hump day” or a coffee, is a cheerful “we are halfway to the weekend”. The joke only works in English; someone who doesn't follow English may just see a camel.