All octopus, all the time

December 4, 2006 2:58 AM

Octopus escaping through one inch hole. Octopus eats shark. Camouflaged octopus. Octopus attacks mini-sub. (Google videos)
posted by Turtles all the way down (44 comments total)

Attacks? More like "comes to check out, gets sandblasted". :)

Octopi are extremely intelligent. I refuse to eat them.
posted by Malor at 3:15 AM on December 4, 2006

Invertebrates rule.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:15 AM on December 4, 2006

All awesome except the mini-sub video.
posted by shanevsevil at 3:43 AM on December 4, 2006

Cephalopod Lust Repelled
Octopus vs. Shark
posted by shoesfullofdust at 4:02 AM on December 4, 2006

Their eyes! So cute!
posted by premiumpolar at 4:09 AM on December 4, 2006

And of course there is this little fellow, one of the most venomous (and beautiful) creatures in the world. From where else?

Australia, the land of venomous reptiles and spiders

(Sorry, couldn't resist)
posted by mattoxic at 4:22 AM on December 4, 2006

Australia, the land of venomous reptiles and spiders

Crickey!

...*sniff*
posted by chillmost at 4:33 AM on December 4, 2006

Koreans eat octopus while it's still alive. Of course sometimes the octopus clings to the inside of their throats and kill them, yet it manages to survive.
posted by clevershark at 4:36 AM on December 4, 2006

My ex girlfriend was extremely intelligent, she refused to eat me. Didn't have eight limbs though. Still, clever girl.
posted by econous at 4:48 AM on December 4, 2006 [2 favorites]

clevershark would never allow himself to be eaten by an octopus.
posted by premiumpolar at 4:48 AM on December 4, 2006

Koreans eat octopus while it's still alive.

Not exactly. You're thinking of Oldboy, which, if you were to believe to the letter, would have you wondering if private prisons exist.

They're cut up while still alive, so when bits and pieces arrive at your table, they're still writhing and wriggling. Same goes for fresh sushi (known as hwe in Korean); it's cut up moments after having its neck broken, but not exactly eaten while still swimming.
posted by war wrath of wraith at 5:15 AM on December 4, 2006

Koreans eat octopus while it's still alive.

Not exactly. You're thinking of Oldboy, which, if you were to believe to the letter, would have you wondering if private prisons exist.

Or maybe thinking of this . . .
posted by kingfisher, his musclebound cat at 5:19 AM on December 4, 2006

Touché, but I've also heard that Americans like to pose in front of cameras with their gaping assholes. I know 'cause I saw this picture once...

I suppose in some parts of Korea they may do that, but in all my time living in the capital city, I've never seen anything resembling what that video shows anywhere (regional differences? city/country?) Notice that the vid was posted by a Korean (meaning, s/he's pointing and being grossed out, too). I have no problems with anyone eating live octopus, btw--it's just not accurate to say "Koreans eat octopus while it's still alive," expecting all Koreans to know what you're talking about.
posted by war wrath of wraith at 5:30 AM on December 4, 2006

Maybe it is regional, not a Seoul thing, or whatever. But there are upwards of 30 or so videos on YouTube of, yep, Koreans dining on live octopus or squid, so it must be at least a somewhat common practice somewhere in Korea.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:43 AM on December 4, 2006

Damn! They've now blocked google video! There's another video site I can't waste time at during work.
Flagged to watch at home...
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 6:12 AM on December 4, 2006

my appetite for [watching] octopuses seems insatiable, and so for this I thank you a thousand times
posted by Busithoth at 6:17 AM on December 4, 2006

And don't forget the walking octopi, out for a watery stroll.
posted by maryh at 6:18 AM on December 4, 2006

oh, and this mimic octopus is one of my favorites
posted by Busithoth at 6:22 AM on December 4, 2006

I love octopuses. The first one is very cute -- seems quite proud of himself for getting through that hole. I wouldn't eat him.
posted by footnote at 6:25 AM on December 4, 2006

" There is very little loss of definition or signal strength among communicating octopi. Indeed, their well-known use of "ink" clouds to conceal themselves may indicate that this is the only way that they can have anything like a private thought. The ink cloud may be ad of correction fluid for voluble octopi who have misspoken themselves. "
posted by maryh at 6:25 AM on December 4, 2006

The following link is not safe for work. [NSFW]
I could very well agree it is a short clip, but it's a clip that is Made In Japan.

Not my Ex.

This comment may be deleted at any time. Thanks be to the Deleter, for s/he it has sacrificed at least one eye. And so say we all.
posted by econous at 6:26 AM on December 4, 2006

I'm not sure how I feel about divers playing with this one, [though it looks as if they don't harm it besides depleting its ink]
posted by Busithoth at 6:33 AM on December 4, 2006

econous, that's a disturbing little video.
can't be sanitary.
posted by Busithoth at 6:36 AM on December 4, 2006

Brainy, boneless and sexy.
posted by maryh at 6:57 AM on December 4, 2006

The following link is not safe for work.

Not safe for eyes...
posted by Quartermass at 6:59 AM on December 4, 2006

Octopus escaping through one inch hole.

That should be a tai chi maneuver or sexual euphemism or some other eu-word. You've got the little man in a boat and you've got the white crane spreads its wings and you've got the octopus escaping through a one inch hole.
posted by pracowity at 7:09 AM on December 4, 2006 [1 favorite]

I know what you mean, Busitoth.

I found myself kinda rooting for the sweet little guy to slip up and over the blonde guy's face...and suck off his breathing apparatus!

And econous, all I can say is: eww.

Serves me right for clicking, though. I live in bukkake-land, I should have known better!
posted by squasha at 7:13 AM on December 4, 2006

All awesome except the mini-sub video

I must admit that slow-motion approach with the big dark eyes was pretty creepy. Then - Alert! Mini-sub engines on full! Evade! and Mr Tangles gets a blast of marine mayhem.

To own a mini-sub would be merely awesome.

To be attacked by an octopus while piloting such a vessel would be better than the second coming of Christ.
posted by CynicalKnight at 8:05 AM on December 4, 2006 [2 favorites]

Octopodae are so much smarter and cooler than elephants. Why don't we have a day of relentless octopod posts?
posted by odasaku at 8:36 AM on December 4, 2006

I was pretty sure this was a double post, and so I was right. But octopi are such astoundingly cool critters that it deserves a re-look.

Here for my own octopi anecdote from the previous post.
posted by elendil71 at 8:53 AM on December 4, 2006

"Octopus attacks mini-sub."

Looked the other way around to me.
posted by itchylick at 8:55 AM on December 4, 2006

elendil71: What an amazing story! I'm glad you linked back to it, I missed it the first time around.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 9:03 AM on December 4, 2006

Don't forget my new personal favorite, the deadly blue-ringed octopus.
posted by ninjew at 9:07 AM on December 4, 2006

That was lovely, elendil71.
posted by maryh at 9:19 AM on December 4, 2006

the mini-sub was remotely controlled, and uninsured, which prompted the owner, on a surface boat, to gun the engines to try and save it.
posted by Busithoth at 9:46 AM on December 4, 2006

Octopus plays with Mr. Potato Head.

I once saw a nature documentary with footage of a small octopus who liked to sleep in a bottle, which she (IIRC, the documentary identified her as a she) carried around with her -- she'd wrap four tentacles under it, and take a step with the other four, in a gallumphing gait.

A diver dropped a new bottle in front of her. She swam over, crawled inside (in a manner that probably resembled the escaping through one inch hole thing, which I haven't watched yet), felt around, and squeezed back out. She swam back to her old bottle and carried it off into the sunset.

Wish I had the title of the doc, or a web link for y'all.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 11:21 AM on December 4, 2006

I linked a friend to this, with the description: Big Octopus, Tiny Hole. HOT.
posted by tehloki at 3:51 PM on December 4, 2006

So far in the posts and comments the plural of Octopus has been written as Octopodae and Octopii but not as yet Octopuses, which I think is correct (in English).

Also I think Octopuses rock and can grow very big.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 4:20 PM on December 4, 2006

Why don't we have a day of relentless octopod posts?

Okay, as long as we can include this.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:44 PM on December 4, 2006

So far in the posts and comments the plural of Octopus has been written as Octopodae and Octopii but not as yet Octopuses, which I think is correct

You, sir, are an ignoramus. The correct plural of "octopus" is "octomopusesses"
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:09 PM on December 4, 2006 [1 favorite]

Your favourite octopus sucks.

The coolest by far is the walnut-sized male blanket octopus, who uses broken off tentacles from the lethal Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish as weapons, and has kamikaze sex with females 100 times his size (um, leaving a living tentacle inside her while he goes off quietly to die after sex...)
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:11 PM on December 4, 2006

I catch them sometimes when I am lobstering off a local pier, I got one in october that was almost three feet all across from tip to tip and that is big for around here. I tiped him out of the hoopnet and he went through a crack between the planks in the pier just oozing along like he was made of mercury.
I agree with Malor, they are too smart to eat
posted by Iron Rat at 6:04 PM on December 4, 2006

Touché, but I've also heard that Americans like to pose in front of cameras with their gaping assholes. I know 'cause I saw this picture once...

IIRC, he's actually from Belgium, or was it France?
posted by inpHilltr8r at 9:46 PM on December 4, 2006

So far in the posts and comments the plural of Octopus has been written as Octopodae and Octopii but not as yet Octopuses, which I think is correct

The American Heritage accepts 'octopi' without comment, and omits 'octopodes.' The OED (the link won't work unless you have a subscription) says 'Plural octopuses, octopi, (rare) octopodes Brit.'

Hunh. I'd have said 'octopi' was wrong, and 'octopuses' or 'octopodes' right, probably remembered from some usage guide or other. But it looks like the fight against 'octopi' is lost.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 10:41 AM on December 7, 2006