The Octopus - Aliens among Us

So grown-ups keep asking, what made me decide to make a video about Octopuses? Well...let me instead ask you, why would a kid NOT want to explore, investigate, and then blab about everything there is to know about these truly bizarre creations!? 
I can't think of a single superhero that has as many abilities as one of these creatures! How about Star Wars then...Nope, nothing so bizarre as an octopus in any of those movies either. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings? Nope and nope!
What really confuses me is how so many kids go crazy about these made-up things when any of us can just go right out there and actually meet the strangest and coolest living alien that anyone could possibly imagine... ever!
So to better answer that question, I guess I'd have to say my Mom and Dad agreed to help me make this video if it would "Get me to stop talking about them every frigging moment of every day!" Thanks for the help Dad and Mom! And I really will try to stop talking about them as much...but they're just sooo Coool!!

So you saw the video and you'd like to learn more about these amazing creatures? Well great for you! There really is a lot of super fascinating stuff to know. Here are just a few of my favorite bits of info to get you started...

Out of This World Octopus Facts

• In the olden days, people thought there were giant eight-legged sea monsters...well it looks like they might have actually been right. Giant Squid Attacks Diver 
• The craziest, smartest octopus EVER has got to be the mimic octopus. This creature takes smart to another level, even for an octopus. It can look and act like just about everyone it meets. 
• Octopuses have the best camouflage because they have millions of eyeballs. Each skin cell in an octopus can actually detect light. Then the cell react by becoming the same color as the light.
• They taste with their suckers!
• An octopus may never find a home in its life. Most octopuses are homeless. They are like the nomads of the ocean.
• Octopuses eat with their butts. At least, they have a beak where their butt should be. Maybe that's why they have to taste with their suckers. Who'd want to go taste something with their butt?
• If an octopus turns white, that means it's actually relaxed. At first I thought this meant they're scared. But Sy assures me this actually means they're happy and feeling safe.
• Ever felt so bored you wanted to chew your arm off? An octopus just might. Scientist actually aren't totally sure why they do this. Sometimes they do it to confuse predators.  Maybe when they're bored, the brain in one arm asks the one with the beak if it can go play. Once disconnected, these arms do like to creep around on their own trying to grab things.
• Many have not one, but two or more types of venom. All octopuses have venom that paralyzes. But some have other poisons in their saliva too, like a kind that eats through your flesh...cool huh? Lucky for us, they don't bite people unless they think you're attacking them.

How To Meet an Octopus... in the Water

If you're like me and you live near the ocean, you can even go diving or snorkeling to see an octopus.

Octopus agents can be found lurking in even shallow water places practically everywhere... if you know where to look that is. 

My Dad and I have actually learned a few pretty cool tricks most people don't know to help see one. I'll let you in on these powerful secrets... but only if you promise not to catch and eat any. It would just break my heart to find out someone suckered in and ate an octopus because of a secret I told them. So if you're planning to try to catch and eat one, just stop reading NOW! 

Where to go:

Swim where it's calm, with lots of nooks and crannies, and where it's dark. Nighttime, especially just after it gets dark, is a really good time.

How to spot one:

This is quite tough. As you probably saw in my video, these critters often hide in plain sight, and yet you'd never know. Try watching the fish ambling along the bottom, and look close to see what they're following. Octopuses are REALLY good hunters and fish know this, so they'll follow one waiting for it to scare up a meal.

If it's dark: Try using a UV blacklight. Like the scorpions we tracked in the desert at night, many octopus bodies glow when you flash em with a UV light. It's called fluoro Diving and it's hecka cool! I'm going to do a video just on this type of diving soon in fact.

Padi talks about it some here... Fluoro Diving

How to get one to come out:

Once an octopus knows it's been spotted, it'll usually scoot into the nearest nook and hide out til you've gone away. But they are aways hungry...and curious. I'll bring along an old baby food jar from my sister, then she and I will catch a few crabs to stick in just before we go in the water. Seeing a crab in the jar right in front of them is an easy way to get most octos to come out.

You can also try the white shirt trick. I haven't tried this one yet, but they're supposed to love flappy white things and will come to investigate.  

Why you Shouldn't Eat an Octopus

I don't personally believe in eating anything with a brain...let alone 9 of them, but there are other reasons these wonderful creations should be kept off your dinner plate.

When their mothership finally comes down, what are your gonna tell them then? "Sorry I've been eating your children for all these years." Let me know how that works for you. Maybe its better to play it safe and... just not eat someone who is, in many ways, smarter than we are and may someday come back to rule our planet.

Still thinking about taking a chew on one, well how about this... Is it right to eat someone or something that deserves our Love?

And Lastly, Here are Some More of My Favorite Octopus Videos: