Woodsy Owl

Give a hoot, don't pollute!

When I was a kid, the USDA Forest Service started using a character called Woodsy Owl to raise awareness about the environment. I still think his most popular slogan is my favorite [BrEng favourite]. It's clever in that it is a play on words:

• The sound an owl makes is a hoot. Like all the animal sounds I can think of in English, the same word is used as a noun and a verb, so an owl hoots (verb), or you can hear an owl's hoot (noun).

• To give a hoot means to care about something. It's very often heard in the negative, as in, "I don't give a hoot about what politician insulted what other politican in yesterday's debate!"

If you've got kids, you can print out Woodsy coloring sheets [BrEng colouring] at the USDA Web site.