This is probably a little off topic, but I have these box elder trees
where I live. They are the stupidest trees. A strong wind comes
along, they bend over till the branches touch the ground and they stay
that way until I remove them. They dont break, they just tip over.
What the heck is the deal with these trees?

Where I used to live, we had hardwoods and conifers. None of them
ever did this. Rarely did they break, but if they did, there was an
actual break, normally a branch. We just had some high winds, and I
found several box elders that fell. One fell on my garage roof. No
damage to the roof, just the branches fell on it. The good thing
these are not heavy trees and generally bust off or do this stupid tip
over nonsense long before they get more than 10 inches of trunk. I
have another laying against my barn, and two more that are laying on
my livestock fences. I guess this is one reason that everyone around
here hates them. They are junky trees, make poor firewood, and have
little other use. When they are sturdy, they make good shade trees,
but they will just suddenly tip over for no reason, and they stay that
way. Why do they do this? They are not broke, but the trunk twists.
Is the wood just that weak, or is there some other reason that is not
obvious?

I should mention that the one that fell on the garage actually broke.
The 7 inch trunk just split and the tree was alive. At least they are
easy to saw up. Even a hand bow saw will cut them quickly.
They sure are irritating though.