For those of you who haven’t had his class, this hatred may not be so well-known to you. For those of you who do know of this hatred, you might not have heard where it all started.

When he was about 17, math teacher Roger Powell was almost the victim of a homicide. The would-be murderer?

An ostrich.

“It was a dramatic day in my life,” Powell said.

Powell was feeding ostriches when one decided it didn’t appreciate his presence in their pen. It attacked him, but barely missed injuring him.

“After that, I just began a hatred for them, and I also figured out how dumb they are, which also made me hate them further,” Powell said.

He often tells stories that demonstrate the stupidity of ostriches.

“Job chapter 39 explains how dumb ostriches are,” Powell said.

Powell’s hatred doesn’t seem to be abating anytime soon.

“I think eventually I will get over my hatred of ostriches, but right now the scarring effects of that day run deep.”