That's a cool article. Octopi and cuttlefish are very interesting.

''As we gazed into each other's eyes, Athena encircled my arms with hers, latching on with first dozens, then hundreds of her sensitive, dexterous suckers. Oh God, I could see forever.''

I have a feeling that I may need to spend some time with Athena or some of her friends. How will that story pan out? Will I become the victim of some hideous hentai? Or will there be ...
(takes off sunglasses)
... a happy ending?


/ Actually, I'll just stick to my ewes.

...Athena was remarkably gentle with me-even as she began to transfer her grip from her smaller, outer suckers to the larger ones. She seemed to be slowly but steadily pulling me into her tank...

Yeah, remember that part about the crushing beak and the flesh-dissolving neurotoxin, dumbass? You go right ahead and crawl into that tank with that WILD ANIMAL and see if she doesn't eventually take a bit out of you. Remember the guy who lived with the bears in Alaska? Yeah, they were so gentile and intelligent, and he just knew that they understood that he meant them no harm....until they freaking ate him.

Mothers, DO NOT let this guy around your kids.

lisarenee3505: Remember the guy who lived with the bears in Alaska? Yeah, they were so gentile and intelligent, and he just knew that they understood that he meant them no harm...

Jewish bears on the other hand...

I'll just leave this here... (new window, possibly NSFW but defensible because it's art)

I'll be in my bunk.

OK, no snark, no sarcasm, I just genuniely want to say thanks subby for posting that. It was a really interesting read and although I already knew quite a bit about Octopi (is that the right term?) I was still quite amazed by some of their capabilities after reading that. And it really did leave me thinking 'I wonder what an octopus truly things when it encounters a person in the ocean?'.

Dear Penthouse Forum,

I am a writer who was assigned to cover some marine biologists. My job is usually pretty boring, so I never thought anything like this would happen to me.

Parthenogenetic: (new window, possibly NSFW but defensible because it's art)

My favorite part of that work is the Octopus by her head with an expression like, "HAI GUYS WHAT'S GOING ON IN HERE?"

lisarenee3505: Remember the guy who lived with the bears in Alaska?

I think there is a significant difference between an octopus that has spent most of its life hand-fed in a tank with professionals handling them being exposed to a non-professional while supervised by the same professionals and a guy living with bears in the woods.

The sound of one hand clapping: Octopi (is that the right term?)

It's about the only one that's completely wrong. The plural of octopus is octopus or octopuses.

Parthenogenetic: I'll just leave this here... (new window, possibly NSFW but defensible because it's art)

I admit... I kind of want to play it as a jigsaw puzzle.

Also I recognized the pic but I didn't know (??) that it was done by Hokusai! (of The Great Wave fame)

gopher321: "Oh, that's just not right!..."

Precisely this.

lisarenee3505: ...Athena was remarkably gentle with me-even as she began to transfer her grip from her smaller, outer suckers to the larger ones. She seemed to be slowly but steadily pulling me into her tank...

Yeah, remember that part about the crushing beak and the flesh-dissolving neurotoxin, dumbass? You go right ahead and crawl into that tank with that WILD ANIMAL and see if she doesn't eventually take a bit out of you. Remember the guy who lived with the bears in Alaska? Yeah, they were so gentile and intelligent, and he just knew that they understood that he meant them no harm....until they freaking ate him.

Mothers, DO NOT let this guy around your kids.

.. the author is a chick.

To steal a line from an xkcd forum member:

"Sorry, I meant 'octopodes.' Third declension Greek nouns are always slipping by me!"

Back from actually reading TFA.

That was... creepy and weird and a little wonderful. Heavy on the creepy, though. And I know at least sort of understand what's going through someone's head when they're rhapsodizing about spiders or bridges.

The sound of one hand clapping: OK, no snark, no sarcasm, I just genuniely want to say thanks subby for posting that. It was a really interesting read and although I already knew quite a bit about Octopi (is that the right term?) I was still quite amazed by some of their capabilities after reading that. And it really did leave me thinking 'I wonder what an octopus truly things when it encounters a person in the ocean?'.

Octopodes

Did they walk away arm in arm in arm in arm ... ?

going to rewatch La blue girl

offmymeds: lisarenee3505: Remember the guy who lived with the bears in Alaska? Yeah, they were so gentile and intelligent, and he just knew that they understood that he meant them no harm...

Jewish bears on the other hand...

=================================

LOL, good catch. Hey, you gotta watch out for those gentiles, they be crazy!

Parthenogenetic: I'll just leave this here... (new window, possibly NSFW but defensible because it's art)

I was expecting this. (also NSFW)

It's probably a good thing they only live 2 or 3 years or they would have figured out a way to come on shore and enslave all the vertebrates 2 or 300 hundred million years ago.

Remember kids - before you attempt to let a cephalopod feel you up, know your species. Some have teeth on their suckers and can RIP YOUR FLESH OFF.

A typical pattern is:

Possibly smart? Fine with that.
Getting over the 'Ick' factor of looking at them? Might take a while.
The possibility of having an alternative to those dolphin chucklefarks? Huzzah.

Octopuses are, after all, "only" invertebrates

Women/Jews/Blacks/Muslims/cows/etc are, after all, "only"....

If you want to do horrible things to someone without feeling horrible about it... give them a label and say "just a..." or "only a...".

lisarenee3505: ...Athena was remarkably gentle with me-even as she began to transfer her grip from her smaller, outer suckers to the larger ones. She seemed to be slowly but steadily pulling me into her tank...

Yeah, remember that part about the crushing beak and the flesh-dissolving neurotoxin, dumbass? You go right ahead and crawl into that tank with that WILD ANIMAL and see if she doesn't eventually take a bit out of you. Remember the guy who lived with the bears in Alaska? Yeah, they were so gentile and intelligent, and he just knew that they understood that he meant them no harm....until they freaking ate him.

Mothers, DO NOT let this guy around your kids.

...what? You seem to be mixing up your hysterical rants.

offmymeds: lisarenee3505: Remember the guy who lived with the bears in Alaska? Yeah, they were so gentile and intelligent, and he just knew that they understood that he meant them no harm...

Jewish bears on the other hand...

...Swing a mean baseball bat.


Quite some time ago, I made the determination to not eat octopus, despite my love for sushi and most Mediterranean food. They're just too smart. There was a show on Discovery or Animal Planet not long ago that addressed the issue of Octopode intelligence, and along with the short lifespan and post-mating dementia and how females usually die protecting their egg cases for the months until they hatch, they're also largely antisocial which has prevented them developing the kind of persistent skill transmission that other smart animals have. Especially considering they're programmed by genetics with only basic instincts in the way most intelligent animals are, and the advanced skills such as tool use, elaborate disguises involving body posture (in the case of the mimic octopus, quite elaborate and effective) and problem solving are things they have to learn quickly and entirely on their own, their intelligence is really profound. In the artificial social environment of aquariums it has been observed that if an octopus is safely within one tank and has view of another that is part of an intelligence experiment, say opening a container or puzzle box to get food, the observer will typically learn how to do the same test as quickly as a grown human would. Perhaps even faster. This doesn't happen in the wild, because they get too scared or just mate and go their separate ways, but here's the thing: per the program, in one region, I forget where but I think it's in the Mediterranean, due to the unique environment and population density (owing to abundant food and shelter), there have been octopuses living in proximity with each other that are not antisocial. They aren't organized into an actual culture (yet), but they seem to have decided to intermingle and share (by proximity) their skills. And it's apparently progressing quite quickly. Perhaps for the first time in the incredibly long history of the critters, there may be a chance for the octopus to begin a genuine climb toward the kind of potential that evolution has been hinting at. Given their smarts, it might be more of a leap than a climb.

I'm thinking that if the octopuses maintain a population with this newfound effort at social structure in that area long enough we humans should declare it a protected region and name it R'lyeh.

The sound of one hand clapping: I just genuniely want to say thanks subby for posting that. It was a really interesting read and although I already knew quite a bit about Octopi (is that the right term?) I was still quite amazed by some of their capabilities after reading that. And it really did leave me thinking 'I wonder what an octopus truly things when it encounters a person in the ocean?'.

It was interesting, but the uncomfortable level of soft-core octorotica REALLY distracted.

Thanks subby. The article was good.

/Didn't need the visual though.

JesseL: I was expecting this.

That comic is... interesting.


/bookmark

Dinjiin: JesseL: I was expecting this.

That comic is... interesting.


/bookmark

Heh. Best drawn and funniest adult webcomic out there.

Octopuses are really freaking cool. It's a shame their life spans are so short.

This video of a little veined octopus walking around in a coconut shell always amuses me. Never knew the critters could be that cute.

Once I got past the soft porn tentacle part I found I was a bit more educated today.

Nice find, subby.

One of my favorite octopus videos. (new window)

/no octomom comments?

t3knomanser: lisarenee3505: Remember the guy who lived with the bears in Alaska?

I think there is a significant difference between an octopus that has spent most of its life hand-fed in a tank with professionals handling them being exposed to a non-professional while supervised by the same professionals and a guy living with bears in the woods.

The sound of one hand clapping: Octopi (is that the right term?)

It's about the only one that's completely wrong. The plural of octopus is octopus or octopuses.

Octopus has a Greek root and therefore does not receive a Latin plural. You could call multiple octopuses octopoda (the Greek plural) but biologists only use octopoda when referring to multiple members of the same type of octopus. Therefore, the correct plural is octopuses.

"Scientists are currently debating whether we and octopuses evolved eyes separately, or whether a common ancestor had the makings of the eye."



What the fhtagn?! I ain't your damned grandpappy.
Get your grubby tentacles offa me ya little squirt!