What a Hoot of a Quiz!

Answer: Twin Peaks

This phrase was repeated ad nauseum in clubs, pubs, work stations, water coolers etc. for the duration of the television series 'Twin Peaks' which aired from 1990 - 1991. It was part of a clue provided to Agent Dale Cooper played by Kyle MacLachlan that would lead to the killer of Laura Palmer, a homecoming queen and popular teenager.

Transylvanian Superstition: Farmers used to scare away owls by walking round their fields naked.

Answer: Florence Nightingale (Crimean War)

Florence Nightingale rescued the owl from a group of boys in Athens whence it quickly became her pet. On the day she was supposed to ship out to the Crimea the bird passed away so she held up her trip for two days in order to get the bird stuffed. It is still in good condition and is on display in St Thomas Hospital, London.

Coincidentally, a poem was written at the beginning of the 13th century by Nicholas de Guildford titled "The Owl and the Nightingale". It was approximately 2,000 lines of octosyllabic couplets and it was a comparison of the different virtues of each bird. According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition (2008), "The allegory may represent the argument between asceticism and pleasure, philosophy and art, or the older didactic poetry and the newer secular love poetry."

U.S.A Superstition: If you hear an owl-cry you must return the call, or else take off an item of clothing and put it on again inside-out.

Answer: Athena

According to mythology Athena was the goddess of wisdom. She loved the owl's appearance and so honoured him by making him her favourite among her birds, thus the symbolism of owls being wise. Athena's bird was a Little Owl, (Athene noctua) and inhabited the Acropolis in great numbers.

Persian Superstition: Wizards used arrows tipped with a bewitched man's fingernails to kill owls. (Erm... how they determined a bewitched man is beyond me.)

Answer: Sheffield Wednesday

The team's nickname is based on their previously named playing ground at Owlerton. In 1914, the name was changed to Hillsborough Stadium when council boundaries changed. Sheffield United are called 'The Blades' because of their connection to the steel industry, Newcastle United are called 'The Magpies' because of their black and white strip and Norwich City are called 'The Canaries' because the area was famous for breeding canaries.

Malayan Superstition: Owls eat new-born babies.

Answer: all of these

There are also many other collective terms for owls but very uncommon.
A bazaar of owls, A brood of owls, An eyrie of owls, A looming of owls, A nest of owls, A stooping of owls, A brood of owlets, A diss of owls, A pair of owls, A sagaciousness of owls plus a stack more that apply to specific types of owls.

Lorraine (France) Superstition: Spinsters go to the woods and call to the owl to help them find a husband.

Answer: five pound note

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
'O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!'


Pussy said to the Owl, 'You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?'
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.


'Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?' Said the Piggy, 'I will.'
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

This is a famous rhyme penned by Edward Lear famous for his nonsense verse and limericks. He was born in 1812 and passed away in 1888.

Jamaican Superstition: To ward off the owl's bad luck, cry "Salt and pepper for your mammy".

Answer: Hooterville

'Petticoat Junction' was a situation comedy exploring the lives and activities of a family who owned the Shady Rest Hotel. The proprietor of the hotel was Kate Bradley and the mother of three daughters Billy Jo, Betty Jo and Bobbie Jo who helped her run the hotel. In true sitcom style she was constantly sorting out the fixes that the girls had landed themselves in. Uncle Joe was her uncle and gave himself the title 'manager' although he was very lazy.

Ethiopian Superstition: A man condemned to death was taken to a table on which an owl was painted, and then expected to take his own life.

Answer: Pigwidgeon

Pigwidgeon was given to Ron by Sirius Black as a replacement for Scabbers his pet rat. A Scops owl is very small (approx 16-21cm and weighing 60-135g) so Pigwidgeon had difficulty carrying most mail. He was named by Ron's sister Ginny which was subsequently shortened by Hermione to simply 'Pig'.

Cameroon Superstition: Too evil to name, the owl is known only as "the bird that makes you afraid". (Sounds a bit like Voldemort if you ask me ;))

Answer: Marvel

Marvel Comics was the brainchild of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. Together they created various comic goodies and baddies such as Spiderman (versus The Sandman, Green Goblin, Dr Octopus and The Owl et al), the Fantastic Four (versus Dr Doom, The Silver Surfer et al), X-Men, Thor and Hulk. Many of these characters have been portrayed into movies or television series.

Shetland Isles Superstition: A cow will give bloody milk if scared by an owl.

Answer: WOL

Other spelling atrocities occur in the tales including the story about Eeyore's birthday where he spells 'A very happy birthday with love from Pooh' as HIPY PAPY BTHUTHDTH THUTHDA BTHUTHDY. Naturally the name of his house (a chestnut tree) is called 'The Wolery'.

German Superstition: A charm against the terrible consequences of being bitten by a mad dog was to carry the heart and right foot of an owl under the left armpit.

All of the country superstitions have come from Deane P. Lewis at 'The Owl Pages'.
http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=Owl+Mythology&title=World