The superstition that one should "touch wood" in order to keep a dreadful idea at bay stems from the Druidic belief that the oak tree possessed mysterious powers. The Druids worshipped the oak as a giver of food and referred to it as the "tree of life" because it also hosts mistletoe, which was, and is, an important plant for celebrations.
The Druids also believed that fairies lived in oaks, leading the Greek writer Lucian to write in the second century the earliest surviving example of science fiction, the "Verae Historiae," "True Histories" or "A True Story," a then modern comedy based on historical mythology. In the book, Lucian writes of "Cynobalani" or "Puppycorns," dog-faced men who fight on the backs of winged acorns.
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