Cephalopod Awareness Day

October 8, 2007 4:07 PM

Happy International Cephalopod Awareness Day! [Via ectoplasmosis.]
posted by homunculus (33 comments total)

Ia! Ia! Ftagn!
posted by Artw at 4:13 PM on October 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

Curse the international time zones! One hour and seven minutes ago I could've joined the celebrations! Now I have to wait until 2008!

Still: Happy International Cephalopod Awareness Day, indeed!
posted by soundofsuburbia at 4:19 PM on October 8, 2007

Cephalopods are aware now? How long before they become sentient?
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:23 PM on October 8, 2007

Aren’t “awareness” days usually about being aware of stuff that sucks, like breast cancer or AIDS? I think this day might have been invented by sperm whales.
posted by tepidmonkey at 4:24 PM on October 8, 2007

UbuRoivas, that’s scary. If they ever become sentient we may need a Cephalopod Awareness Awareness Day.
posted by tepidmonkey at 4:25 PM on October 8, 2007 [2 favorites]

Cephalopods? Already? I'm still not over Elephant Day!

And Giant Squids are the only natural enemy of the Weinermobile.
posted by wendell at 4:32 PM on October 8, 2007

Not bees, not elephants, but squids today.
posted by ericb at 4:34 PM on October 8, 2007

Wendell: that's exactly what I've been telling people who ask me about my elite red version of that shirt. :D
posted by aubilenon at 4:46 PM on October 8, 2007

Ia! Ia! Ftagn!

It's not catching the reference that makes me a nerd. It's not even catching the reference, spotting the spelling mistake, and noticing that this phrase doesn't really make much sense in the dark tongue of the Elder Gods (it translates roughly as either "Ia! Ia! Waiting!" or "Ia! Ia! Waits dreaming!") that makes me a nerd.

No, it's the way my mind immediately jumps to the conclusion that Artw's twisted speech is the end result of madness brought on by exposure to non-Euclidean geometry that makes me a nerd.

Someday, I'll discover girls and completely forget about all of this.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 4:49 PM on October 8, 2007 [5 favorites]

holy god i wish i was making these cephalopod facts up
posted by ialwayscryatendings at 4:55 PM on October 8, 2007 [2 favorites]

*retreats to the nearest Hoegbotton & Sons safe house for the duration*
posted by terpsichoria at 4:57 PM on October 8, 2007

Someday, I'll discover girls and completely forget about all of this.

If & when you do, you'll need to erase it completely from your thoughts, unless you want to make it your reality for the rest of your life.
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:10 PM on October 8, 2007

Gimme Gimme moreoctopus
posted by Smedleyman at 5:22 PM on October 8, 2007

more
posted by Smedleyman at 5:23 PM on October 8, 2007

"Earth, what a planet! Here, you enjoy eating a tasty clam. On my planet, clams enjoy eating a tasty you!”
posted by SPrintF at 5:30 PM on October 8, 2007

Smedleyman, here's the inscrutable, talented, and award-winning Mimic Octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus) playing its many roles: eel, flatfish [QT movie], sea snake [QT movie], starfish, and dead (with eye peeking out).

More about this amazin' ceph thespian at Advanced Aquarist.
posted by cenoxo at 5:37 PM on October 8, 2007 [3 favorites]

IA!

and, remember kids, sanity is a sawed-off shotgun.
posted by vrakatar at 5:42 PM on October 8, 2007

I for one welcome...well, you see where I'm going with this.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 5:43 PM on October 8, 2007

Octopuses: smart, visionary, tasty.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 6:05 PM on October 8, 2007

im celebrating w/ sake and sushi
posted by petersn1 at 6:09 PM on October 8, 2007

Good cephalogod! I've made the front page of Metafilter. Been a member since 2001 (under a different puppet). Never thought I'd see the day. I feel tingly. Faint.

Anyway, for those of you who missed it, there is always Cephalopodmas to look forward to.

And if anyone wants to blog about cephs while the day yet remains, send me your links. Tanks!

PS, there are still five more days left in Squirrel Awareness Week if you prefer that.
posted by cephalopodcast at 6:17 PM on October 8, 2007 [2 favorites]

However, what is more interesting, er ... is the mollusk's er ... sex life.
posted by wfc123 at 6:39 PM on October 8, 2007

Cephalopods' sex lives are hardly any less interesting than molluscs':

It looks like J-1 is in love. After meeting the very fetching and slightly younger Aurora, he changed color and his eight arms became intertwined with hers. Then, the two retreated to a secluded corner to get to know each other better [...] evidently they hit it off: Spermatophores were seen hanging from J-1’s siphon.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:59 PM on October 8, 2007

Ween's Mutilated Lips from their album The Mollusk.
posted by Brian B. at 7:24 PM on October 8, 2007

Thanks and all the best from Squid Ranch.
posted by ranchocalamari at 8:20 PM on October 8, 2007

Some male cuttlefish suitors camouflage themselves as the fairer sex to sneak in under the guard of rivals and play sucky-face with attractive females.

Can't find a link, but there's also a video showing a male cuttlefish swimming between rivals and a prospective mate. Romeo simultaneously flashes 'come-hither' colors on the side of his body facing the female, and flashes 'Back off, she's mine' colors on the opposite side facing the males.

Daisy Hill Cuttle Farm owner Richard Ross breeds dwarf cuttlefish for aquariums. He's posted several interesting videos, including one of a captive — and aptly-named — Flamboyant Cuttlefish (Metasepia pfefferi).

Don't miss the slideshow of cute little baby Sepia bandensis.
posted by cenoxo at 8:22 PM on October 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

cephalopodcast, I hope this means you'll put in a good word for me with your masters. I want to be eaten first!
posted by homunculus at 8:44 PM on October 8, 2007

...and before this auspicious octopus day is over, lend a tentacle to Help Save The Endangered Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus!
posted by cenoxo at 9:56 PM on October 8, 2007

I'll be sure to get a mention of this on the Squid List
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 11:16 PM on October 8, 2007

I knew my wedding anniversary was on a good day!
posted by agregoli at 8:22 AM on October 9, 2007

I was going to retype out my octopus alien horror story, but I think it will just be easier to link to my previous comment.
posted by quin at 11:38 AM on October 9, 2007

Anything An Octopus Can Do, A Parrot Can Do Better
posted by homunculus at 4:28 PM on October 9, 2007

This should be as big as Christmas.

For me, every day is Cephalopod Awareness day. I spent hours watching these and these and checking this out. Stoked, I was. And I tried to tell others about it, and they looked at me like I was weird. But I know now SOME people understand.
posted by louche mustachio at 7:01 PM on October 9, 2007