Interesting story on the Oglethorpe University mascot:
The Stormy Petrel is an extinct, seafaring bird. Similar to a seagull. It would land on the masts of ships back during the age of exploration.
Not sure that it's true, but the story I've often heard is that the birds developed an oily substance on their wings, which was quite flammable.
Upon the appearance of a stormy petrel on their deck, sailors would know that land was near. They'd wait until dark, take a match to the bird's wings, and watch the direction it flew in order to follow it to shore.
Again, not sure if it's fact or fiction...but it makes for an interesting story behind a landlocked University whose mascot is an extinct bird.
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I'm also a big fan of the Purple Cows from Williams College, and the Fighting Christians from Eloy. Nothing to strike the fear of God into a rival football team like a Fighting Christian.
Interesting story on the Oglethorpe University mascot:
The Stormy Petrel is an extinct, seafaring bird. Similar to a seagull. It would land on the masts of ships back during the age of exploration.
Not sure that it's true, but the story I've often heard is that the birds developed an oily substance on their wings, which was quite flammable.
Upon the appearance of a stormy petrel on their deck, sailors would know that land was near. They'd wait until dark, take a match to the bird's wings, and watch the direction it flew in order to follow it to shore.
Again, not sure if it's fact or fiction...but it makes for an interesting story behind a landlocked University whose mascot is an extinct bird.
---
I'm also a big fan of the Purple Cows from Williams College, and the Fighting Christians from Eloy. Nothing to strike the fear of God into a rival football team like a Fighting Christian.