Why is tumbleweed affiliated with no activity?

Diddums

Diddums

Diddums

Caporegime
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Random thought for the day. I wanted to express myself, as I do, to a mate's Youtube channel which has seemingly gone dead, so I sent him a gif of tumbleweed but this got me thinking: Why is tumble weed associated with no activity / dead areas? If a human turns up, do all the tumbleweeds run away and hide? Do they only come out when they know there are no people about? Do they have lookouts to monitor for human activity? Are there other inanimate objects with similar behaviour?

Discuss.
 
I think it is associated with formally populated areas that have since been abandoned (As in Western ghost towns as mentioned above)

The implication being I guess that if they were still populated the people would clear away the tumbleweeds as they blow in rather than allow them to accumulate (Much like dead leaves)

As such by extension it probably refers to any situation where people have lost interest.
 
Diddums said:
Random thought for the day. I wanted to express myself, as I do, to a mate's Youtube channel which has seemingly gone dead, so I sent him a gif of tumbleweed but this got me thinking
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Random thought for the day - why do that to your mate who'll be better aware of the lack of activity on his channel than you given his access to all the stats imaginable for his channel? Why not suggest something useful to him?
 
hughtrimble said:
Random thought for the day - why do that to your mate who'll be better aware of the lack of activity on his channel than you given his access to all the stats imaginable for his channel? Why not suggest something useful to him?
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I've done more than my fair share to help his channel, don't you worry about that ;)

And real friends can take the mick out of each other, we have a sense of humour.
 
Diddums said:
I've done more than my fair share to help his channel, don't you worry about that ;)

And real friends can take the mick out of each other, we have a sense of humour.
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I liked this.

And I agree it's a trope from westerns that's carried into modern culture.
 
Tumbleweeds blow across the desert until they reach water, then they reanimate, when the water dries up they shrivel again and blow away.

My mother has one in a box she gets out and waters occasionally to watch it green up and spread out (she's old, easily amused).
 
tumbleweed.gif
 
ubersonic said:
Tumbleweeds blow across the desert until they reach water, then they reanimate, when the water dries up they shrivel again and blow away.

My mother has one in a box she gets out and waters occasionally to watch it green up and spread out (she's old, easily amused).
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I'm not old, maybe easily amused....but that sounds awesome.
 
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