People post really stupid shit on Facebook. I’m sure you’ve all seen it more times than you care to count. So I decided that on my personal page I was going to start posting interesting facts. This way people learn things instead of reading countless stupid political opinions of people talking out of their asses about things they don’t really know about.
I have what is developing to be, an unhealthy obsession with owls. (See top of blog site for proof. I don’t like the layout of the page but there is an owl so it stays.) My first interesting fact ended up being about owls. I know a lot about owls and there were new things I was still learning. It was so exciting! What is more Halloween than owls? I mean, they puke up the fur and skeletons of their victims, so naturally it seemed appropriate that they get their own blog post.
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The eyes of owls are not true “eyeballs.” Their tube-shaped eyes are completely immobile, providing binocular vision which fully focuses on their prey and boosts depth perception.
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Owls can rotate their necks 270 degrees. A blood-pooling system collects blood to power their brains and eyes when neck movement cuts off circulation.
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A group of owls is called a parliament. This originates from C.S. Lewis’ description of a meeting of owls in The Chronicles of Narnia. (I knew the group name but not it’s origins!)
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Owls feed the strongest baby first. That means if food is scarce, the youngest sibling starves to death.
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In ancient Greece, the Little Owl was a companion of Athena, the greek goddess of wisdom, which is one reason why owls symbolizes learning and knowledge. But Athena was also a war goddess and the owl was considered the protector of armies going to war. If Greek soldiers saw an owl fly during battle, they took it as a sign for coming victory.
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They are also seen as a symbol of death. From ancient times and on, they have been linked with death, evil, and other superstitions. Owls have been associated with witches and other so-called evil beings. While this may sound like Halloween fun, many cultures still have superstitions about owls and in some places, owls are killed based on those beliefs.
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In Japan, there are owl cafes where you can hang out with owls while drinking tea.
Who, who, who’d have thought learning was so exciting?!
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