Belief worth hooting at

The following text is originally lifted from the trivia section of The Jakarta Post dated Monday, 19 May 2008.

~Compiled from various sources~

• The Ancient Greeks revered owls and believed them sacred to Athena. Affiliated with the goddess of wisdom and learning, the owl was considered wise and kind.
• Hearing the hoot of an owl is associated with bad luck. To counter evil owl power put irons in your fire. Or throw salt, hot peppers or vinegar into the fire, the owl will get a sore tongue, hoot no more, and no one close to you will encounter trouble.
• When you hear an owl, to prevent bad luck, take off your clothes, turn them inside out and put them back on.
• Any man who eats roasted owl will be obedient and a slave to his wife.
• Looking into an owl's nest brings sadness for life.
• A pregnant woman hearing an owl hoot signifies that the baby is a girl.
• If an owl lands on the roof of your house, it is an omen of death. Constant hooting near your house also foretells death.
• If an owl hoots at the moment of childbirth, the child will have an unhappy life.
• The Irish believe that if an owl flies into a house it must be killed immediately. If it escapes, it will take the luck of the house with it.
• If an owl nests in an abandoned house, then the dwelling must be haunted. An owl is the only creature that can abide a ghost.
• By eating salted owl, a person can be cured of gout.
• If an owl hoots during a burial service, the deceased is bound to rise from the grave and haunt the living.
• An owl living in the attic of a house will cause a pregnant woman to miscarry.
• A robin flying into the house is good luck.
• A peacock feather has an evil eye at the end. Argus, the Greek legend, said a 100-eyed monster was turned into a peacock with all its eyes in its tail.
• Peacock feathers indoors are bad luck.
• Hearing a peacock cry means a storm is approaching.
• A wish made on the first robin of spring will be granted.
• A robin entering the house is a sign of a death in the family.
• Killing a robin is extremely bad luck.
• Causing a robin injury will bring a similar injury to the perpetrator.
• A robin entering a house or church is an omen of death.
• Jaybirds go down to the devil's house on Fridays to tell all the bad things that have happened during the week. Jaybirds who remain on Friday are checking up on what people are doing.