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and you have to go in search of your creative spark again. Maybe this is catching up with

creative friends, experimenting with a new look or trying out a new recipe.

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Ready to spark something? Download the Sims 4 and play for free. Welcome to another mini-cast from Away with Words. I'm Martha Barnett.

Listen, can you guess what this is? Who-boop-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o Whoop, whoop, whoop, No, it's not Morse Code, it's not a baby chimp.

It's the sound of the Hoopo.

Funny looking bird, the Hoopo.

It has a pink head, zebra striped wings, and what looks like a great party

hat of pink feathers all tipped in black and white. The flight of the hoopo is somewhat erratic. It looks more like a butterfly than a bird.

And what other odd thing about hoopos, their nests are extremely stinky.

Hoopos actually line their nests with their own droppings, all the better to keep predators away.

Even the bird's name looks weird, it spelled H-O-O-P-O-E.

The Hoopo is found throughout much of Europe, Africa, and Asia.

In many cultures this bird is highly regarded.

In folklore, the wise biblical King Solomon took advice from a hoopo.

In fact, just last year, Israelis voted the hoopo their country's national bird.

In other cultures, though, the hoopo isn't so well regarded.

In Greek myth, this otherworldly bird was a symbol of death.

And in France, the Hoopo has long been considered stupid.

Maybe that's because of its colorful clownish appearance,

although I'm sure the nest thing didn't help.

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