Comments

1
They've been around in one form or another for hundreds of millions of years. It would figure they've picked up a few tricks. Plus there's a quality about them, a personality or self awareness, that makes them endearing.
2
I don't like knowing that they might be smart. It makes them even creepier than they already are, and they are pretty dang creepy.
3
I for one welcome... etc, etc.
Although, I can't imagine they'll master fire anytime soon.
4
Not "they might be smart". They ARE smart. I dated a biologist in college, and she was always talking about them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalopod_…
5
Nature blows my mind.
6
Why do we call THIS the use of tools but ignore hermit crabs employment of human refuse for protection?

Nobody's hailing hermit crabs as brilliant.
7
I guess it's a good thing (for them) that they're not very tasty. Otherwise, we would have wiped them out a long time ago.
8
That vid is amazing. So funny and awe-inspiring at the same time.
9
And they taste delicious on top of some sushi rice with nori too. Is there nothing they can't do?
10
Can't they also "fly" too? I remember seeing a video where they were making huge leaps out of the ocean.
11
Adorable, smart, and tasty. I think I am interested in dating an octopus.
12
Well, I guess I won't be eating these guys anymore (or calamari for that matter). And too bad for me because I love the taste of them... but I've been having a difficult time for a while now reconciling their intelligence and capacity for emotion with their tastiness. This video seals the deal. Let's hope salmon don't suddenly start using tools or my list of acceptable animal proteins is gonna be non-existent!
13
Speak for yourself 7- I've loved Tako since childhood. Very chewy.
14
Maybe it is time we stop eating these amazing creatures...
15
Oh great Kiley, you've inspired the comics writer to do yet another thesis, this time on Spongebob Lupuspants.
16
Lovecraft made the Cthulhu vaguely octopus-ish, didn't he? very fitting.
17
Ph'nglui mglw'hafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'ngal fhtagn!
18
My brain would be on a different planet right now if Charles had written this post.
19
@17: Is that the Octopus language?
20
@17: 5280, I guess if you make up your own language you can put the damned apostrophes wherever you want, eh? (Nyarlathotep says you got it right, LOL!)
21
@19, 20 either of you read Lovecraft?
22
IA! IA! CTHULHU FHTAGN!
23
podes. octopodes.
24
You know what else they do? They decorate the ground in front of their burrows. They set up aesthetically pleasing little displays of rocks and plants so they have something to look at when they come out to look for crabs to eat. (Cue "Octopus' Garden" by the Beatles)
26
They use tools, they learn by observation, they can distingush between friendly scientists and dissect-y scientists, they have a bizarre nervous system that leaves them with no concept of where the different parts of their body are relative to one another AND they're super-cool awesome looking alienlike things.

I love these tentacly rapscallions! Love them!
27
I love how it mooned the camera at the end.
28
I'm a marine biologist. Octopuses are very smart critters. I used to feed the GPOs at the Seattle aquarium when I was a volunteer there, and they definitely saw me coming.

That's not using tools though. To use a tool you have to modify an object and then use it to modify something else. Like carving a spear tip and then killing a deer. Birds pick up stuff to build nests with all the time and they're not using tools.

@27: that was its mouth (beak). the octopus poos through its siphon.
29
@ 1 - Bacteria have been around a while too, and they're pretty dumb.

But yeah, this is really cool. I love cephalopods.
30
Sounds more like octopodes are the crows of the sea. Does Charles hold any irrational hatred towards them?
31
I can't believe there's 30 comments on this.
32
How many, balmonter?
33
I'm still not convinced this constitutes tool use, but I love the phrase "I almost drowned laughing".
34
Great article! I can't believe I didn't read "Sexy Beast" when it came out a few months ago....now I'm really excited and creeped out by octopodes!

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