8 Threads with suckers–
1. While visiting an aquarium in Seaside, Oregon, I watched the giant Pacific octopus. It appeared to be sleeping. Each exhaled breath from its jet rippled the water. The sign above the shallow cave read “Please Do Not Touch”. The other habitats encouraged sensory interaction. Children stood on risers near the touch pools, squealing as they poked precious hard-shelled starfish and spinney anemones. No one else was interested in the alien-like cephalopod lurking in the dark. I slowly dipped my hand into the cool, salty water to stroke one of the eight entangled arms. As my fingers touched a slippery tentacle, its suckers latched on. Its body changed color from red to white as it tasted me. I am curious to know how I tasted.
2. It is a misconception that more than one octopus is octopi. Both forms are acceptable and since most people believe the latter is incorrect, telling them the former is false is futile. Since the word was adopted from Greek, not Latin, the most etymologically correct form is Octopodes (ok-TOP-uh-deez).
3. I had asked what the name of the Giant Pacific Octopus was at the aquarium residing at Seaside, Oregon. I was told, "She doesn't have one. They don't live very long, so when we get one, we don't name them." Since a captive female will still lay thousands of eggs and instinctively care for them, even though they are unfertilized, I named her
Gloriana, after the childless Queen Elizabeth I, and called her Gloria.
4. While swimming at Balmoral Beach in Australia, a man was stung by a blue ringed octopus no bigger than a tangerine decorated with pulsating sapphire rings. The eight-armed creature delivered a dose of neurotoxin one thousand times more deadly than cyanide with no known antidote. Within minutes of this deadly kiss, paralysis set in. The man survived beauty's sting by being placed into a medically induced coma while on a respirator for twenty hours as the venom ran its course through his body. A cautionary tale that not everything beautiful longs to be touched.
5. A mother and her son visited an aquarium while on a road trip to the Oregon Coast. They learned the
Giant Pacific Octopus had recently died. They allayed their disappointment by purchasing French fry boats filled with raw fish bits to feed the seals. The seals recognized the red and white fry boats and immediately began to perform for the salty treats by barking, clapping and stirring up waves to splash spectators. The two laughed, enjoying the show as they tossed slimy bits for the seals to catch. Knowing the seals had access to the freedom of the ocean and chose to return made their interaction even better. At the gift shop they purchased two plush animals. A velvety orange octopus and a soft gray seal. She named the eight armed sea queen Ursula. He named the seal Hermes. She asked, “Why Hermes?” He said, “Because it’s hermetically sealed.” Ursula and Hermes rode all the way home on the dash of their car.
6. Having no body armor like crustaceans and no defense weapons other than a squirt of ink as a smoke screen for escape, the giant pacific octopus has evolved to be clever. An octopus named Otto in an aquarium in Germany so disliked the light above the tank that it aimed the spray from its jet at the bulb causing it to short circuit every night. Another explanation for this mischief could be that Otto was expressing sentient boredom.
7. Octopuses collect sea shells, rocks, and coral. They also pick up human trash like bottle caps, cans, and fishing lines. They use all they collect to create a midden garden of decoration and defensive camouflage. They are drawn to shiny things. Could you befriend an octopus by bribing one with treasure?
8. In the film, My Octopus Teacher, the giant Pacific Octopus befriended by the filmmaker was attacked by a small shark. As he watched he unsure if it was his place to intervene with the course of nature. The octopus lost a tentacle and nearly died. She hid herself away from fear but eventually started to come back out, revealing a regrowth of a tiny eighth tentacle. I am moved by the resilient magic and wonder what things would be like if humans possessed the same quality.
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