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Wily Octopi Walk on Two Arms

Posted by Zonk on from the coming-for-you dept.

lousyd writes "Offering hope for new forms of ambulatory robots, biologist Christine L. Huffard, at UC Berkeley, has caught individual octopi sneaking away from predators by using two of their arms as legs. They use the other six arms to make themselves look like coconuts or algae. The research is being done as part of a project on robotics. This reminds me of the Far Side cartoon where the cows drop to all fours when humans come around, but resume standing on two legs otherwise." And I for one welcome our new mollusk overlords.

233 comments

  1. Octopus! by BWJones · · Score: 5, Interesting

    And I for one welcome our new mollusk overlords.

    Octopus are spooky smart. They are pretty good problem solvers, they have excellent vision and a bizarre sense of curiosity. They will explore just about everything they can access, and have distinct personalities. They are in all likelihood the smartest organisms in the sea second to cetaceans. I wrote in a previous discussion on Slashdot about my pet octopus, Cephus (short for cephalopod), but that was only one instance of amazing behaviors I had witnessed. I have also dived off the Pacific Northwest with giant pacific red octopus (Octopus dofleini) and found them to be quite curious and for the most part docile (this is in contrast to squid which are truly ruthless aliens that would kill you if given the slightest chance) unless you piss em off and which point they usually simply want to get away. However, I have seen them steal items from divers and swim off with them as well.

    The interesting thing about robotics and control of complex systems like this is the computational control required of such structures. Octopus can almost seemingly turn themselves to liquid and fit through the most amazingly small spaces, yet their strength would amaze (and I suspect scare) you. Even my pet octopus (Octopus bimaculoides) who was about a foot long could generate incredible forces from very muscular arms. The giant octopus would be so strong, they could likely (literally) tear you apart if they were not so docile. Here is the deal though: They need an aqueous environment to move effectively. I suspect that for robotics teams, some combination of hydrostatic muscles and exoskeletons would be necessary, which now that I am thinking about it could be huge for artificial limbs for amputees. Right now the most advanced artificial limbs have internally driven servos that have limits on torque that are quite low. This technology could open the door for more capable artificial limbs and exoskeletons to enhance human movement as well as robotics.

    Oh, other links of interest to the original Science paper are here, but you need a subscription to see the full text article. The movies linked there though are free.

    --
    Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
    1. Re:Octopus! by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      I wonder whether such behavior is an inborn instinct, or if they purposely plan to imitate stuff.

      "Bob, Wait! That ain't no air hose!..."

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    2. Re:Octopus! by uberdave · · Score: 2, Interesting

      OK, I was going to mention coming across something about an octopus moving across a table from one tank to another. I thought it was a discovery channel flashback or something. I guess I read your previous post and it stuck in the dim recesses of my mind.

      I do remember seeing a show featuring a two chambered octopus tank with a spiral tube about 5cm across linking the upper chamber of the tank to the lower. Despite the fact that the tube was much smaller than the octopus, the animal was able to move between the chambers at will.

      --
      "I'm not impatient. I just hate waiting." - My Dad
    3. Re:Octopus! by Tablizer · · Score: 3, Funny

      Despite the fact that the tube was much smaller than the octopus, the animal was able to move between the chambers at will.

      Feed it a diet of Cheetos and TV, and THEN see it fit thru.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    4. Re:Octopus! by Alien54 · · Score: 4, Interesting
      For more info, check out The Octopus News Magazine Online

      And of course, there is this on the dangers of squid: Scary Squid Stories:

      Although they look flaccidly impotent when laid out dead on the deck, when alive in the water, Humboldt squid are powerful, vicious, meat-eating predators, and they are very dangerous to swim near. Around Baja, more gruesome stories are told about people getting killed by squid than by any other sea creature. Imagine a swarm of 50-pound animals capable of swimming more than 20 miles-per-hour, equipped with voracious appetites and over 1,000 suckers, each containing about 20 gripping teeth strong enough to tear human skin (correct, that's 20,000 teeth!). And, surrounded by that cluster of four-foot long arms is a powerful parrot's beak the size of a small tangerine, snapping and cutting at anything pulled within its reach.

      In Baja, the typical "diablo" squid story involves a hapless fisherman who is suddenly caught and pulled overboard while night fishing commercially with lights. Within a couple of seconds, his entire body is literally covered with clinging, biting squid that quickly pull him down into the dark and tear him to pieces before anybody can help.

      Yes it is important to remember that they are NOT the same creature

      --
      "It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
    5. Re:Octopus! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      "spooky" smart, eh?

      It may be spooky for people who are brought up to believe humans are somehow different to all other life.

      But unless you think that our vast capacity for problem solving and creativity, abstract thought, achievements like mathematics, quantum mechanics and relativity, our level of understanding ranging from the atom to the birth of the universe, etc. is also "spooky", then I don't see why you are in such apparent awe (fear?) of this creature's "smarts".

    6. Re:Octopus! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What if they've actually perfected their camoflauge techniques on us!

    7. Re:Octopus! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Slashdot.com is spooky smart. Not.

      This is the second article in less than a week that they've ripped from boingboing.net. The other one was reimagining Apple.

      I go to boingboing for fresh stuff these days...

    8. Re:Octopus! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      boing boing doesn't have monopoly on neat stories, no user comments either.

    9. Re:Octopus! by DrEldarion · · Score: 1

      Feed it a diet of Doritos and Mountain Dew, and then see it sit in front of the computer all night.

    10. Re:Octopus! by Clay+Pigeon+-TPF-VS- · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Humans are different. We have the guns, and the opposable thumbs with which to use them.

      --
      Viral software licensing is not freedom, it is in fact GNU/Socialism.
    11. Re:Octopus! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      /me looks down into Pot Noodle, freaks out...

    12. Re:Octopus! by quarkscat · · Score: 0

      Congratulations!

      Your graphic description of octopi pulling
      fishermen overboard has stirred up the
      battle between species that rages within me.

      I will have to help avenge that poor fisherman's
      horrible fate, and visit the local fish market
      tomorrow. Cleaned, sliced, marinaided, breaded,
      and gently pan fried callimari.

      Ummmm! Octopussy! Gooood!

    13. Re:Octopus! by Ohreally_factor · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Here is the deal though: They need an aqueous environment to move effectively. I suspect that for robotics teams, some combination of hydrostatic muscles and exoskeletons would be necessary, which now that I am thinking about it could be huge for artificial limbs for amputees. [snip] This technology could open the door for more capable artificial limbs and exoskeletons to enhance human movement as well as robotics.

      I have no expertise in this area, so this might just be a lot of babble, but what sort of applications might this have with "prosthetic" eyes? It seems (to my uneducated mind) that you could have lenses that change shape and adapt to changing conditions much more rapidly. Perhaps an octopus muscle system girdling the eyeball instead of corrective lenses?

      I know that sounds weird, and is probably unworkable for a variety of reasons. It just sounds weird enough for a Johnathon Lethem novel.

      --
      It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
    14. Re:Octopus! by blair1q · · Score: 2, Informative

      Natural muscle tissue doesn't use torque to generate torque.

      So why are we still using torque to generate torque in robots?

      Massively parallel, flexible linear actuators, either attached to a hinged, rigid structure, or using its own internal pressure to provide rigidity, seems to be the key.

    15. Re:Octopus! by TheoMurpse · · Score: 1

      Your graphic description of octopi pulling

      I think you missed the whole point of his post (octopi are not squids)

    16. Re:Octopus! by Alien54 · · Score: 2, Informative
      Your graphic description of octopi pulling fishermen overboard has stirred up the battle between species that rages within me.

      Those are the Humboldt Squid, not an Octopus. Like I said above

      Octopus are much more mild mannered

      --
      "It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
    17. Re:Octopus! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here is the deal though: They need an aqueous environment to move effectively.

      That's what I was thinking, what's the big deal? They walk with two legs... yeah, so what, they're in the water with no weight to support.

      I suspect that for robotics teams, some combination of hydrostatic muscles and exoskeletons would be necessary, which now that I am thinking about it could be huge for artificial limbs for amputees.

      You mean like insects and crustaceans?

    18. Re:Octopus! by mamba-mamba · · Score: 1
      They are in all likelihood the smartest organisms in the sea second to cetaceans.

      <sarcasm>
      Yeah. They are way smarter than all those stupid seals, seal lions, sea otters and such.
      </sarcasm>

      Maybe you meant to say "marine mammals" instead of "cetaceans?"

      Mind you, the octopus might just be smarter than the manatee.

      MM
      --
      By including this sig, the copyright holders of this work or collection unreservedly place it in the public domain.
    19. Re:Octopus! by Abreu · · Score: 1

      Actually Octopus live longer if you place lots of simple plastic toys and tubing in its tank.

      You dont get the "authentic reef aquarium" look, but you get hours of fun watching the octopus.

      --
      No sig for the moment.
    20. Re:Octopus! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You fire a gun with your thumb??

    21. Re:Octopus! by BWJones · · Score: 3, Interesting

      but what sort of applications might this have with "prosthetic" eyes? It seems (to my uneducated mind) that you could have lenses that change shape and adapt to changing conditions much more rapidly. Perhaps an octopus muscle system girdling the eyeball instead of corrective lenses?

      You might be closer to reality than you think. It turns out that aqueous lenses are a hot area of research. Principally, cell phone manufacturers are looking at this technology, but the applications to artificial lenses for humans are significant. For instance, when one gets their lens replaced with an artificial one due to cataracts or trauma, you lose the ability to accommodate the lens. An implantable, focusable lens would be a huge leap and it is just this sort of unconventional thinking that is going to move us forward.

      --
      Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
    22. Re:Octopus! by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      " then I don't see why you are in such apparent awe (fear?) of this creature's "smarts"."

      Name another creature with the same 'spooky' smarts you said us humans have. Name one that's close. If you can't, then you can understand what's 'spooky' about it.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    23. Re:Octopus! by NarrMaster · · Score: 1

      You sound like you need release.

      Squid Hunt.

      Coming Fall 2005 for PC.

      You've been warned.

      --
      That's right. All your base.
    24. Re:Octopus! by Thing+1 · · Score: 0, Troll
      And, surrounded by that cluster of four-foot long arms is a powerful parrot's beak the size of a small tangerine [...]

      First of all, how would the octopus get into a tree in order to steal it?

      Second of all, where would the octopus find a parrot that large?

      --
      I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
    25. Re:Octopus! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      No, don't think he meant that.

      Octopusses *CAN* solve problems (multi-step puzzles to get food) that no animal except primates can solve. I think he's being generous giving cetaceans the benefit of the doubt because they don't have the arms to prove if they coudl or couldn't.

    26. Re:Octopus! by moishel · · Score: 1

      My grandfather, Jerry Lettvin, ran a marine neurolobiology lab in Naples back in the '60s. He has a huge collection of octopus stories from the time, some of which may've been enhanced by the passage of time, but are nonetheless entertaining.

      One of his octopi was in a tank next to a shark. Another tank over was a tank full of molluscs. Apparently the octopus managed to jump out of its tank, onto a feeding plank which went above all three tanks, walked across the plank above the shark tank, then dropped into the mollusc tank. When my grandfather arrived the next morning, the octopus was making "happy colors" in the mollusc tank after gorging itself. So the octopus was smart enough to realize the bordering properties of tanks, not to mention getting the idea of jumping out of its tank in the first place.

      My uncle also managed to train one of the octopi to squirt only certain grad students. It would also change color depending on who was in the lab at the time.

    27. Re:Octopus! by JimmehAH · · Score: 1

      You need a thumb for single-action revolvers.

      Though you could use your other hand, cowboy-style.

    28. Re:Octopus! by Clay+Pigeon+-TPF-VS- · · Score: 0

      Have you ever tried loading a gun w/o using your thumbs?

      --
      Viral software licensing is not freedom, it is in fact GNU/Socialism.
    29. Re:Octopus! by Tackhead · · Score: 1
      > Have you ever tried loading a gun w/o using your thumbs?

      Yes, because I don't have thumbs. It didn't work out too well, but why would I want to load your gun, be it a semiautomatic or revolver? (Rifles wouldn't fit). Firearms don't work too well underwater anyways, unlike this membrane keyboard I found in your spare parts drawer. A glue gun, can be loaded quite easily without thumbs, and makes an excellent waterproofing tool.
      - Your octopus.

    30. Re:Octopus! by Oligonicella · · Score: 1

      I don't get it either. All the great apes, elephants, cetaceans, parrots; will those do? They can all solve complicated problems using the tool sets at their disposal.

      What does the 'spooky' connotate to you?

    31. Re:Octopus! by BWJones · · Score: 1

      Yeah. They are way smarter than all those stupid seals, seal lions, sea otters and such.

      Sarcasm is not becoming.

      Maybe you meant to say "marine mammals" instead of "cetaceans?"

      Nope. I meant what I said. Various studies designed to evaluate the intelligence of octopi reveal that they are on par or exceed the intelligence of dogs. The thing you have to remember is that octopi are a little more alien to us than are mammals, so we have to be careful in our evaluation of them. Think about how they can control color, patterning, behavior etc... to become both stealthy and serious predators that at the same time have an innate sense of curiosity and impressive problem solving abilities. The fact that they do not live long likely prevents them from becoming even smarter, otherwise.....

      --
      Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
    32. Re:Octopus! by Hannah+E.+Davis · · Score: 1
      I've always envied people who have little tentacled friends, and for the first year and a half of university, I was studying biology in the hopes of someday working with the little guys. I switched to computer science last term, but I still absolutely adore octopuses (I have a plush octopus AND a plush Cthulhu! I sleep with the latter, while the former guards my computer) and hope to someday keep one as a pet.

      In part because of this, I'm curious about your Cephus. Was he difficult to acquire (I've noticed that most pet stores around here don't keep them, but I may have more luck in Vancouver), and did you have much difficulty securing his tank? I've read some of the articles linked off here, and got the impression that they will escape from practically anything that isn't welded shut. I've also read that they're quite sensitive, so require very clean water and other specific environmental conditions. I haven't had fish since I was very young, so I suspect I'm best off getting a tank set up with other fish before I try to introduce anything with tentacles... but I would greatly appreciate tips from someone who's already had one as a pet.

      Now, on the topic of the article, it actually doesn't surprise me that they'd walk like that. The mimic octopus in particular has been known to swim or otherwise move in unusual ways to imitate sea snakes, flounders, lionfish, and other sea creatures. I am, however, curious about whether they can be taught new camoflage and mimcry techniques (and if so, how much can they learn?). If studies have already been done on this, feel free to send me the links... otherwise, this is a hint to all you marine biologists out there looking for a research topic :)

    33. Re:Octopus! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...you insensitive clod!

    34. Re:Octopus! by Scrameustache · · Score: 2, Funny

      Octopus are much more mild mannered

      Or smart enough not to leave witnesses ;-)

      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    35. Re:Octopus! by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Aqueous lenses are neither new nor unconventional. Most people are equipped as standard with two of them.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    36. Re:Octopus! by BWJones · · Score: 1

      Most people are equipped as standard with two of them.

      You do realize that I am a vision scientist, right? You do realize that the lenses in your eyes are crystaline epithelial cells, not water filled sacks?

      --
      Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
    37. Re:Octopus! by zero_offset · · Score: 1

      OTHERWISE...

      --

      Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005

    38. Re:Octopus! by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      If you were a vision scientist, you'd know how to spell "sacs". Tell me, what are those cells filled with?

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    39. Re:Octopus! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are such an asshole. If you were to click through to his website, you would see that he is a vision scientist. You fscking troll.

    40. Re:Octopus! by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Right. Click on mine, I'm the pope.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  2. Seems pretty neat... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    But can they juggle while doing it?

  3. I saw this on the news. by FireballX301 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Mind you, a large clump of reddish flesh walking along a sandy seabed with greenish water as a background is not what I would call camoflauged.

    1. Re:I saw this on the news. by Nos. · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The point is not to blend in with their surrondings, but to like something uninteresting to whatever they are trying to hide from. A predator that would feast on an octopus would not like pay attention to a piece of seaweed floating by or a coconut bouncing along the sea floor. Speaking of which, if I hadn't read the article, I would not have guessed that those were octopi.

    2. Re:I saw this on the news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful
      It is if many the plants around are the same color of redish - at least to a shark or eel that might want to eat it.

      I wouldn't think a black&white striped zebra is that well camoflauged either - but it works.

    3. Re:I saw this on the news. by BWJones · · Score: 5, Informative

      Mind you, a large clump of reddish flesh walking along a sandy seabed with greenish water as a background is not what I would call camoflauged.

      Ah, but you need to understand the properties of color in sea water. There is considerable color filtering of light as it passes down through the column of water rendering red objects as dark olive or dark colored objects. Blue light penetrates very well as do certain wavelengths of green (why the Navy is so keen on blue and blue/green lasers). Most of the pictures you see of organisms in the ocean are with artificial light rendering them as they would appear to our eyes on the surface.

      One other point: Our eyes are fairly poor at discriminating colors compared with most fish. We only have three color channels with which to process color, whereas many fish have four, five, six or more channels to see a much richer world than we could ever appreciate.

      --
      Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
    4. Re:I saw this on the news. by Forbman · · Score: 1

      I saw within the last year, though, a show about the so-called "mimic" octopus, which I think this is an example of. It's kind of small, but it quite literally mimics other creatures rather well, both in coloring and behavior.

      A rather remarkable little creature.

      Also amazing about octopi is that the coloring cells on their bodies are, IIRC, directly mapped into neurons in their brains. No ganglia, etc., to combine signals in.

    5. Re:I saw this on the news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We only have three color channels with which to process color, whereas many fish have four, five, six or more channels to see a much richer world than we could ever appreciate.

      Different experience to be sure, but my world is just as rich as any old fish's.

    6. Re:I saw this on the news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >We only have three color channels

      You may find that there are a few rare women out there with 4.

    7. Re:I saw this on the news. by kaalamaadan · · Score: 1
      Yeah. Mimic is a bitch. It has an animal body. A giant mimic has no eyes, and is therefore impervious to gaze and blindness attacks. It has no limbs and no head. It has a thick hide. It is a carnivore. See the Nethack Monster Manual.

      Rather difficult guys, I think.

    8. Re:I saw this on the news. by Abreu · · Score: 1

      Strange, I always thought a mimic was a treasure chest that transforms into a monster.

      --
      No sig for the moment.
    9. Re:I saw this on the news. by jackbird · · Score: 1

      Is that a joke or something real? If real, got a link? I was under the impression that luminance, red/green, and blue/yellow were all there is in the human eye from a physiological and neural standpoint.

    10. Re:I saw this on the news. by chialea · · Score: 1

      This isn't a joke, there's an old slashdot story about a study. I can't find a link on the internet at large, but here's the old story:

      http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/09 /0 2/1336238&tid=14

      Lea

    11. Re:I saw this on the news. by uberdave · · Score: 1

      Tetrachromats are women who have four types of color sensors in their eyes. Apparently the gene for cone development is encoded on the branch of the X chromosome that is missing in the Y chromosome. Thus women (XX) have the potential to be tetrachromatic, whereas men (XY) do not.

      Slashdot has had at least one story on it.

      --
      "I'm not impatient. I just hate waiting." - My Dad
    12. Re:I saw this on the news. by misterpies · · Score: 1

      >>We only have three color channels

      You should get cable.

      --
      The author of this post asserts his moral rights.
  4. /. needs a bio section. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Those video clips are the cutest things I've seen.

    /., please add a bio category - a lot of interesting stuff happens in this category.

    1. Re:/. needs a bio section. by Dr.+GeneMachine · · Score: 1

      I second that. Biology, biochemistry and genetics - apart from being fascinating per se - will be the next field for hacking, optimizing and late-night coding sessions - beware of the nerds of the next generation!

      --
      This comment does not exist.
    2. Re:/. needs a bio section. by bigberk · · Score: 1

      Agreed! I'd love to see these kinds of articles more often. Those video clips are fantastic, octopus trying to sneak away ... "nothing to see here, I'm just a ball of trash OK?"

    3. Re:/. needs a bio section. by Rie+Beam · · Score: 1

      Interesting that they lack a bio category, but have a politics one. Which has more in common with Sci/Tech?

  5. Obligatory Far Side link... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://members.tripod.com/~damyano/images/Far_Side _101901.JPG

    1. Re:Obligatory Far Side link... by aardwolf204 · · Score: 1

      Far Side Link...

      --
      Im dreaming ofa big bndwdth, That can resist the /.crowd.May ur days b merry & bright & may al
  6. How perfect... by PedanticSpellingTrol · · Score: 5, Funny

    What better way to ring in the opening of the Hardware section than with... invertebrate biology? Wait, WTF?

    1. Re:How perfect... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would mod you up if I had points... rofl.

  7. Bender by snowsmann · · Score: 1

    now this means we can create bender from futurama some day, with his crazy bendy arms and all

    --
    timeo Danaos, et dona ferentis
  8. Greek v. Latin roots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It is octopodes, you terrible, terrible people.

  9. Octopus is a Greek word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    So the plural should be octopodes.

    (In the same way, platypodes is the plural of platypus)

    1. Re:Octopus is a Greek word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      By your crap logic, a person who has a foot fetish is a pedophile.

    2. Re:Octopus is a Greek word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Can you provide more information?

      I thought that the plural was octopi

    3. Re:Octopus is a Greek word by boingyzain · · Score: 2, Informative

      The word 'octopus' is derived from the Greek oktopous - okto, "eight," and pous, "foot." The Greek plural of pous is podes. Since it is best to use a Greek plural for a Greek root that means the most proper plural for octopus IS octopodes like you said. However, practically no one uses this term, not even the scientists who study the animals.

      The word octopi is still the least correct of our options. That usage mistakes the "us" on the end of octopus as a Latin suffix, and applies a Latin plural to it. You shouldn't put a Latin plural on the end of a Greek root.

      This leaves us with octopuses, which isn't as technically correct as octopodes, but conforms to the rule for English plurals.

      Still, Webster's gives both octopuses and octopi as plurals for octopus.

    4. Re:Octopus is a Greek word by arbitraryaardvark · · Score: 1

      Second declention latin nouns end in -us and pluralized as -i. alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae.
      Octopus isn't one of those, so octopi is either a mistaken backformation or a knowing injoke.
      source: volokh conspiracy 3/05.
      Octopuses is correct.
      Octopodes may be, it's greek to me.
      I may be wrong about the latin.
      Some octopus are active greek.
      Generic term, tentacle monster.
      source: ghastly's ghastly comic.

    5. Re:Octopus is a Greek word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yes, thats right. moronic americans who dont understand ancient languages seem to have confused the words paedophile and pedophile. the operative words meaning respectively child and foot. fools.

    6. Re:Octopus is a Greek word by TheoMurpse · · Score: 1

      Actually, that would be a 'podophile'.
      'Ped-' is child ('pediatrics', etc), but 'pod-' is 'foot' -- 'podiatry' is the study/treatment of feet or something like that. That is why we have cephalopods and gastropods.

    7. Re:Octopus is a Greek word by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I sincerely agree.

      It might be dangerous to post URLs on Slashdot, but the topic of Greek vs. Latin roots used incorrectly when it comes to octopuses was a topic in Issue #1 of Octopus Army (a zine with no pop culture references or politics) which could be found here: http://www.maggietron.com/octopusarmy/issues.php

      I am glad there are people out there also realizing the incorrectness of "octopi".

  10. Parent is a RETARD. DO NOT VIEW AVI by Creepy+Crawler · · Score: 1, Informative

    That's just DISGUSTING.

    Now worksafe? It's Not VOMIT safe.

    What it is: Naked woman in doggiestyle position with an octopus in her vagina.

    --
    1. Re:Parent is a RETARD. DO NOT VIEW AVI by Chris+Tucker · · Score: 1

      That ain't no octopus.

      What you got there is a "prarie squid". Beloved by all genders and sexual persuasions of SubGeniuses worldwide.

      Looke like a right frisky little feller, too!

      Praise "Bob"!

      --
      Guaranteed! This comment 100% Anthrax free!
    2. Re:Parent is a RETARD. DO NOT VIEW AVI by smellystudent · · Score: 2, Funny

      Cue half of /. clicking on parent link...

      --
      Predictive text is shiv!
    3. Re:Parent is a RETARD. DO NOT VIEW AVI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Well, it may be a troll, but it sure ain't offtopic.

      /washes eyes out with battery acid. PRABOB!

  11. Re:octopi are amazing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You sick fsck! What kind of twisted asshole would be posting links to that kind of garbage?

  12. "Octopus" is Latinized Greek by SweetAndSourJesus · · Score: 2

    There's really no precedent.

    I think octopi, octopodes, and octopedes are all accepted.

    --

    --
    the strongest word is still the word "free"
    1. Re:"Octopus" is Latinized Greek by Tarcastil · · Score: 1

      Octopuses is the best way to say it. Source: http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutgr ammar/plurals

    2. Re:"Octopus" is Latinized Greek by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was at some point given to believe it was "octopoda".

      IANAMB;NDISGOL* though, so WDIK**?

      * I Am Not A Marine Biologist; Neither Do I Speak Greek Or Latin
      ** What Do I Know

    3. Re:"Octopus" is Latinized Greek by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      Bah! I reject your newfangled English pluralization methods!

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    4. Re:"Octopus" is Latinized Greek by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      I prefer "octopoxen".

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  13. Allow me to be the first to say... by uhlume · · Score: 4, Funny

    Cthulhu fhtagn, Cthulhu fhtagn! Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!

    --
    SIERRA TANGO FOXTROT UNIFORM
    1. Re:Allow me to be the first to say... by orkysoft · · Score: 1

      "What? My mother was a saint!"

      --

      I suffer from attention surplus disorder.
  14. Headline.. by Renraku · · Score: 1

    When I saw the headline I automatically thought of a certain octopus boss from a Megaman game.

    --
    Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
    1. Re:Headline.. by FusionDragon2099 · · Score: 1

      If you're talking about Launch Octopus (X1) or Squid Adler (X5), they both came around after Wily was long gone.

    2. Re:Headline.. by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      True. It's not a good idea to put the words "Wily" and "robot" into the same story - even less when talking about walking octopi.

      But I still won't deactivate my colorshifting combat robot. He has just obtained Police Man's "Police Baton" weapon.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  15. Mod up. by jizmonkey · · Score: 1

    He's right.

    --
    With great power comes great fan noise.
  16. only a day or 2 late by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does slashdot always cover stories from the nightly news a day or 2 later???

    1. Re:only a day or 2 late by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, sometimes it can take weeks or even months.

  17. Most excellent, thank you by SweetAndSourJesus · · Score: 2, Funny

    Always nice to have solid ammunition for arguments in bars.



    ...

    Well, what sort of bars do you go to?

    --

    --
    the strongest word is still the word "free"
  18. Damn Dirty Octopi by tinrobot · · Score: 4, Funny

    Just make sure they don't get their tentacles on any firearms.

    1. Re:Damn Dirty Octopi by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Octopi don't have tentacles, you insensitive clod!

  19. It's trying to look like a piece of coral by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    At least that's what I read from another source and what it looks like to me.

  20. This link actually works! by Frodo+Crockett · · Score: 5, Informative

    Obligatory Far Side cartoon

    --
    "The newly born animals are then whisked off for a quick run through a giant baking oven." --heard on Food Network
  21. Slashdot is SLOOOOOOW by jsimon12 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Long gone are the days when Slashdot has stories before mainstream media. I head this on NPR, oh well Slashdot, so much for being edgy.

    1. Re:Slashdot is SLOOOOOOW by mphase · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not to pick on you in particular (oh I'm sure you're shaking in your boots, bah) but with so many people making this same comment I have to address at least one of them. While it is all well and good to have that hear it here first edge it would be crippling to not post something simply because it lacks that one attribute. Yes everybody has already heard at least something about this but it does not mean that it shouldn't be posted. It's interesting damnit, that should be the first and main concern in choosing material not whether slashdot is the only place to hear it.

      --
      vampirical
    2. Re:Slashdot is SLOOOOOOW by RichardX · · Score: 1

      Sure, but to be fair, Slashdot is always first with the dupe!

      Slashdot: News for nerds. Failed car analogies. We've got the scoop on the dupe.

      (thanks and apologies to whoever I stole the "failed car analogies" bit from)

      --
      Curiosity was framed. Ignorance killed the cat.
    3. Re:Slashdot is SLOOOOOOW by saskboy · · Score: 1

      The effects of blogs are taking their toll on slashdot. Slashdot used to be the ultimate blog, contributed to by geeks around the world. Now there are enough popular blogs that much of the news is posted there simultaneously.

      So our octopi friends have probably showed up on more than just /. and NPR. They're everywhereeee.

      --
      Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
  22. NPR did a story on this today by Fnyar · · Score: 2, Informative

    NPR did a story on this today. You can get audio of the story as well as video of the octopi walking at:

    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=4561136

    1. Re:NPR did a story on this today by mako1138 · · Score: 1

      Yup, heard it on NPR today too. I was hoping they wouldn't use that Beatles song.

  23. Classification? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Kingdom: Animalia
    Order: Mollusca
    Class: Cephalopoda

    Anyone wanna complete this?

    1. Re:Classification? by jcuervo · · Score: 2, Informative

      Sure.

      Subclass: Coleoidea
      Superorder: Octopodiformes
      Order: Octopoda

      --
      Assume I was drunk when I posted this.
    2. Re:Classification? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

      Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

    3. Re:Classification? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      c'mon...where's the phylum now?!

    4. Re:Classification? by alzoron · · Score: 1

      Critical Miss!

    5. Re:Classification? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Challenge Rating: 1/4 (normal) 2 (large) 9 (giant)

  24. More "New"s by paronomasia5 · · Score: 2, Funny

    In related news, the babylonians have attacked the greeks, and the roman empire's power is waning.

    1. Re:More "New"s by Dr.+GeneMachine · · Score: 1

      Might acutally be news to a lot of people....

      --
      This comment does not exist.
    2. Re:More "New"s by Legion303 · · Score: 1

      This was just reported in Science yesterday.

      Science, Vol 307, Issue 5717, 1927 , 25 March 2005

  25. I wonder what by Pingsmoth · · Score: 1

    John Cusack's mom would have to say about this?

    --
    http://www.walkingtaco.com
  26. I for one... by Mike+Bridge · · Score: 2

    welcome our new cephalopod overlords

    1. Re:I for one... by lscotte · · Score: 1

      welcome our new cephalopod overlords

      Just so it's not Murloc overlords I'm OK with it. I hate Murlocs with their odd gurgling noises and they always bring lots of friends back when you pull them.

      --
      This post is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
    2. Re:I for one... by PedanticSpellingTrol · · Score: 1

      God, yes. I cancelled my subscription to wait for battlegrounds, which I now suspect has a lot in common with the SWG Combat Revamp, but I'd come back if they changed that damned sound effect.

  27. This is by far the coolest thing I've seen today.. by TheGuano · · Score: 2, Interesting
    And I've had a very long day at "work," too.

    So I take it we've all heard the story about the guy who filmed his pet octopus climbing out of its saltwater tank, crawling 12 feet across the floor and up a stand into a freshwater tank to eat the goldfish before heading back?

  28. I object to the anti-squidism! by gkitty · · Score: 5, Interesting
    this is in contrast to squid which are truly ruthless aliens that would kill you if given the slightest chance

    I've never been aware of being close to large squid and couldn't begin to guess their mindset, but I've swum amongst thousands of modest sized squid who have exhibited no hostility whatsoever.

    In all seriousness, I've found squid to be some of the coolest creatures I've ever seen, and they can be very hard to see. They usually make themselves appear to be just like water, which is probably useful for animals that most things would find to be tender and yummy. So if you're looking for squid, you don't quite look for anything tangible, mostly you look for an odd change in the refraction of the water, and then you see if the refraction has eyes.

    If you can do this, and it is admittedly an odd skill, keep looking, and you may find that the eyes are studying you very intentedly (and I always assumed without malice!) Often once you see one you will realize that you are surrounded by hundreds of them, and once they realize you see them and don't seem to be a threat, they sort of 'uncloak'. Their skin is the coolest thing you have ever seen, it almost has a television like effect, as it pulses and flows with many colors, very fast and trippy.

    They have the oddest motion, they approach you tentacles first, but they flee tentacles back, and as they watch you, they pulse back and forth in curiosity (maybe that is malice!) and fear, with their colors and patterns pulsing in time. I have always felt that they are communicating with a visual language, though obviously that language lacks phrases like "Stay away from the boat with the bright lights!"

    I agree with you that octopuses are super cool, I sometimes look for them when I snorkel, and again looking for an octopus is like looking for something that isn't quite not there. They have great camoflage, so mostly you look where they ought to be in a crack or something, and you usually figure out they're there before you quite see them. They have the coolest ambulation and jet powered swimming too.

    I've read that octopuses are mostly built of liquid tissue. Can't pretend to understand exactly how that works, but I've seen a large octopus flow through a pinhole, it's the weirdest thing.

    1. Re:I object to the anti-squidism! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Squid can kill anyone they want! Squid cut off heads ALL the time and don't even think twice about it. These creatures are so crazy and awesome that they flip out ALL the time. I heard that there was this squid who was swiming along. And when some dude dropped a spoon the squid killed him. My friend Mark said that he saw a squid totally uppercut some kid just because the kid opened a window.

      And that's what I call REAL Ultimate Power!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    2. Re:I object to the anti-squidism! by kaalamaadan · · Score: 1
      Shouldn't we liberate the sea from the squids?

      Heartless fiends opposing democracy and our way of life! Down with the squids! The world will be a safer place for species endowed with less limbs.

    3. Re:I object to the anti-squidism! by MoogMan · · Score: 2, Funny

      And that, my friends, is how to kill an interesting thread with lots of interesting stories...

    4. Re:I object to the anti-squidism! by abell · · Score: 2, Funny

      Credit due to realultimatepower.net.

    5. Re:I object to the anti-squidism! by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      A squid once bit my sister...

    6. Re:I object to the anti-squidism! by TheoMurpse · · Score: 1

      Ask and ye shall receive.

    7. Re:I object to the anti-squidism! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Shouldn't we liberate the sea from the squids?
      >
      > Heartless fiends opposing democracy and our way of life! Down with the squids! The world will be a safer place for species endowed with less limbs.

      Heh. I didn't know cetaceans had evolved opposable thumbs! Welcome to Slashdot, you'll taste great!
      - A squid.

    8. Re:I object to the anti-squidism! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And this one time ago, when we were at band camp ....

  29. Hardware section? by mtrisk · · Score: 5, Funny

    hardware.slashdot.org? Where's the slashdot announcement? And why are octopi in the hardware section? Do they run linux or something?

    --

    Without a proper flamewar, Anonymous was undecided on what shell to run.
    1. Re:Hardware section? by bigberk · · Score: 1

      How about here

    2. Re:Hardware section? by wgnorm · · Score: 1

      hardware.slashdot.org? Where's the slashdot announcement? And why are octopi in the hardware section? Do they run linux or something?

      Not yet, but someone's working on it. (scroll to the bottom for concept sketches and renderings)

  30. Re:octopi are amazing by tetromino · · Score: 0

    Gotta love the these animals!

    WARNING: NOT SCHOOL/OFFICE SAFE

    Congratulations sir, now I want to claw my eyes out and die. That ... squid scene ... belongs to the same sanity-destroying category as goatse and tubgirl.

  31. Obligatory by ggvaidya · · Score: 1

    Err ... maybe they want us to imagine a Beowulf cluster of those?

    1. Re:Obligatory by The+Ur-Grue · · Score: 1

      Well, it certainly worked on me.

      --
      "Dead men are no longer interested in military history." -Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus
  32. Which is better? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Octopus or dragonfy?

  33. Re:octopi are amazing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now you have seen the glory of Great Lord Cthulhu!

  34. Octopuses is the correct English plural by kjoonlee · · Score: 2, Informative

    So everyone is speaking Greek when they talk about an octopus? I don't think so. Greeks don't say octopus when they want to talk about eight-armed cephalopods with no tentacles and no shell.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus#Plural

  35. Old news.... by MrToast · · Score: 1

    We've always known that octopi could walk.

  36. Boingboing is even worse than /. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Doctorow is a complete jackass.

  37. Coconuts? by Skiron · · Score: 5, Funny

    I didn't know coconuts 'sneaked' away from predators away? What do they do, roll away innocently whistling?

    1. Re:Coconuts? by SweetAndSourJesus · · Score: 2, Funny

      Just remember: you don't know what coconuts do when nobody's watching them.

      --

      --
      the strongest word is still the word "free"
    2. Re:Coconuts? by RichardX · · Score: 1

      I thought their usual mode of transport was carriage by swallow.
      Probably doesn't work too well underwater, now that I think of it, though.

      --
      Curiosity was framed. Ignorance killed the cat.
    3. Re:Coconuts? by Skiron · · Score: 1

      African or European swallow?

    4. Re:Coconuts? by RichardX · · Score: 1

      Doesn't really matter, does it? Neither of 'em can swim very well.. and anyways, African swallows are non migratory so they couldn't bring a coconut back

      --
      Curiosity was framed. Ignorance killed the cat.
    5. Re:Coconuts? by FleaPlus · · Score: 1

      Indeed. And they would wave hello, but they have no hands.

  38. Apologies in advance... by Frodo+Crockett · · Score: 1

    In Soviet Russia, octopus studies you!

    --
    "The newly born animals are then whisked off for a quick run through a giant baking oven." --heard on Food Network
  39. Cephalopods are mollusks by kjoonlee · · Score: 1

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mollusk
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalopod

    Mollusks include cephalopods. No need to be pedantic. :)

  40. Re:octopi are amazing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just felt sad for the octopus.

  41. all fine and well but..... by shrewd · · Score: 1, Funny

    "This reminds me of the Far Side cartoon where the cows drop to all fours when humans come around, but resume standing on two legs otherwise." And I for one welcome our new mollusk overlords."

    did you have to take possibly the two best replies along with it?

  42. Media Meme of the Moment by JabberWokky · · Score: 1
    This is really bizarrely popular. I think it's nifty and all, but it has been on literally every news program I've listened to today, from fairly conservative morning talk hosts to All Things Considered. It's popped up on a good chunk of the blogs I've viewed... it's freaking everywhere!

    And at the same time, most science stories get squat. (The T. Rex story died out when reporters found out that they weren't cloning dinosaur armies). What the hell?

    --
    Evan

    --
    "$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
    1. Re:Media Meme of the Moment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the hell?

      Simple: the videos are freakin' funny. I know I've been passing it around to my friends ever since it was first sent to me.

  43. Mod Parent Shameless Plagiarist by Omkar · · Score: 1

    This is copied and pasted from a comment linked to by the first post. The idiot didn't even bother to change the name Cephus to Josie.

    1. Re:Mod Parent Shameless Plagiarist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Something about this story is fishy!

  44. Re:Yeah!! It's so true! by Frodo+Crockett · · Score: 1

    You might want to credit the original source of your post. This is nothing short of plagiarism.

    It's sloppy, too. You didn't properly reproduce the link in the third sentence, and you forgot to change the last instance of "Cephus" to "Josie". I wonder if the rest of your posts are the same?

    --
    "The newly born animals are then whisked off for a quick run through a giant baking oven." --heard on Food Network
  45. Plural is NOT Octopi!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The plural of octopus is NOT octopi!!! This is a completely incorrect declension assuming octopus ia a Latin word. It isn't. I don't care what dictionary.com gives, it's wrong. The plural is octopuses (or even octopodes if you want to be clever).

    1. Re:Plural is NOT Octopi!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      dude these are Americans we are talking about, school is a financial transaction not a learning experience

  46. Copied Comment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where have I seen this comment? Oh, I know! BWJones posted it several months ago here. Sad.

  47. I for one . . . by TheScorpion420 · · Score: 1, Funny

    I for one welcome . . .dammit!!!

    --
    If you pay your taxes you support terrorism!
  48. Re:Yeah!! It's so true! by Eric(b0mb)Dennis · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    sorry i forgot to change the name guys-

    no, none of my other posts were like that i'm just stoned and bored, mud me to hell i don't care :P

    --
    Excuse me, I don't mean to impose, but I am the ocean
  49. We're not speaking Greek by Xtifr · · Score: 3, Informative

    English is not Greek, and, like it or not, "octopuses" and "octopi" are both listed in dictionaries of the English language, but "octopodes" are not.

    Octopi here, but no octopodes.

    Or to put it another way, I'm sympathetic to your argument, but I still disagree with you. :)

    1. Re:We're not speaking Greek by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Okay, now you're just being a smartass. If you look in a good dictionary, like the Oxford English Dictionary, you see octopodes. Octopi is incorrect, but common, and dictionaries are usually descriptive. Being common doesn't mean it's correct, and here it isn't. End of story.

      The original article used "octopuses," which is fine, but then the submitted changed it to "octopi" to make himself look erudite. That is what pisses people like me off - it's not that the Greek is being forgotten, it's that pompous assholes try to show off with fancy classical conjugations but they are completely wrong.

      It's almost as irritating as sitting in a class at a 2nd-rate university with a professor who thinks he's an expert but makes mistakes every five minutes during lecture.

    2. Re:We're not speaking Greek by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      I was going to write a long post agreeing with you, but I have to check my computer for virii.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    3. Re:We're not speaking Greek by Finuvir · · Score: 1
      Dammit, don't post anonymously when you're saying something like that or people won't see it. Every time a post like yours becomes more visible one of the "pompous assholes" will learn something and change his ways.

      Mod parent +1 Informative

      --
      Why is anything anything?
    4. Re:We're not speaking Greek by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Conjugations are verb inflections, not pluralizations. Stupidass.

    5. Re:We're not speaking Greek by SoulOfMyShoe · · Score: 2, Insightful
      See, I am torn. You say "Being common doesn't mean it's correct" and as a purist of the English language, I am inclined to agree with you. Words like "irregardless" and its ilk make me shudder every time I hear them. I have also tackled the whole octopi/octopodes debate before, and I agree that octopodes is the most correct etymologically and that octopuses makes equal sense as an English plural of an imported word. Octopi is an overgeneralization by people who usually mean well and think they are using the correct pronunciation by imitating other words which end in -us (most of which do come from Latin).

      As a linguist (or at least a prospective linguist), I have to disagree with you a little about your above point. Issues of "right" and "wrong" in language really have less to do with etymology and more to do with the whether or not the utterance is grammatical to those who hear it. Octopi has entered the common usage to the level that it does not sound awkward to most people. It is an accepted plural that is even listed in dictionaries. Yes, these dictionaries are descriptive, but that is really the only fair way to look at language.

      Languages change. They change at a much slower rate now than they did historically because of increased travel and the need for standardized forms in order to facilitate understanding between groups that are distant from one another, but they still change. These changes are not always grammatical or accurate etymologically, but this is part of language. As much as it irks me, "irregardless" may eventually come into common enough usage that it will be a perfectly acceptable word. I will fight it tooth and nail, damnit, but it really isn't up to me.

      I think your assessment of the person who posted this article to Slashdot may be a bit unfair. I doubt that the poster changed the word in an attempt to look erudite. Most people actually think that octopi is the correct plural, so he probably was just "correcting" a word that felt awkward to him. To be honest, despite the fact that I am aware of the "proper" plurals of the word, octopi still sounds more correct to me than either of the other two forms. Because I am a pedant, I don't use it, but I will acknowledge its pervasiveness.

  50. The plural of octopus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is octopuses, octopi, or octopodes. Though that last one doesn't get used so much.

    1. Re:The plural of octopus by mamba-mamba · · Score: 3, Informative

      The plural of "octopus" is "octopuses."

      "Octopi" as a plural started as an ignorant mistake.

      Read more about it here.

      MM
      --
      By including this sig, the copyright holders of this work or collection unreservedly place it in the public domain.
    2. Re:The plural of octopus by rawshark · · Score: 1

      Or octopodes if you want to impress people/be thought of as weird...

  51. Re:Yeah!! It's so true! by Frodo+Crockett · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If you're stoned and bored, surely you can come up with something funny! Barring that, there's nothing wrong with reposting a relevant comment. What you should have done was

    A) posted it in reply to BW Jone's original post,
    B) titled it "For the lazy" (or something similar), and
    C) stated explicitly that you were reposting BW's comment.

    Then you'd be more likely to get modded "Informative" than "Redundant".

    --
    "The newly born animals are then whisked off for a quick run through a giant baking oven." --heard on Food Network
  52. Re:Yeah!! It's so true! by nandu_prahlad · · Score: 1

    Man! You just blatantly copied what BWJones had written about a month back.

    Jones earlier post

    Passing other's comments as your own gets you respect from no one.

  53. Marlin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "There's this mollusk, right? And he walks up to a sea cucumber..."
    For those of you that don't get it, that's understandable. Not many Slashdotters have girlfriends, but if you did, you'd be forced to watch "Finding Nemo" until you knew EVERY FRIGGIN LINE OF DIALOGUE BY HEART!!!11
  54. Re:Yeah!! It's so true! by nandu_prahlad · · Score: 1

    I thought it funny that he apologized for not covering his tracks better rather than for plagarism. ;-)

  55. It's funny by Meor · · Score: 0

    No really, nerds are funny, keep making jokes, just keep doing it.

  56. That's funny. by SmartSsa · · Score: 1

    I'm kind of drunk, ok, really drunk on this good friday and like any IT professional, I came home and hit refresh on my always-open /. firefox tab.... I saw this.. I laughed. Is it not amusing that octopi hide by acting as coconuts? I thought it was. so laugh with me. Laugh, damnit. It's funny.

    --
    It's just Crap.
    1. Re:That's funny. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...so what if two swallows carried the octopus by a string...

    2. Re:That's funny. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow! You're so cool. I wish I was cool enough to drink, because it's so exclusive. It's not like I could.. y'know.. pop down to the pub, or go to Tesco or Safeway and pick up a bottle of vodka.

      What is it with Americans (sorry, but I assume you are) and drink? Like it's some kind of wild acid trip to drink a beer?
      Reminds me of that bit in Donnie Darko:
      Ronald gives Donnie a cigarette.
      Ronald: "This is some good shit, huh?"
      Donnie: "It's a fucking cigarete!"

      So, aside from the fact you're drunk (you go, geek!), what else does your comment have to tell us.. that it's funny that octo(pi/podes/puses) roll along the seabed pretending to be coconuts?

      Okay, yeah, I'm with you on that one, it IS funny, and I think the comedy potential has been severely underexploited in this thread.

      I, for one, welcome our new coconut-disguised walking stealth-octopus overlords.

    3. Re:That's funny. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What is it with the American-bashing? Are you really that insecure? Or is it some country-level form of penis envy?

      Really, I think it might be nothing more than another example of John Gabriel's Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory

      Hell, keep it up. Someday bashing on the internet might actually make your opinion meaningful.

  57. Automobile, feh! by douglips · · Score: 4, Funny

    I laugh at your claim of the existence of an "automobile". Surely anyone inventing such a device would be educated enough to know that it should be called either an "ipsomobile" or an "autokineticon."

    --
    My amazing wife - Artist, Author, Philosopher - Laurie M
    1. Re:Automobile, feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      The reason people are pissed here is that hte original article and most scientists use the word "octopuses." The jerk who submitted it changed the word to "octopi," which is wrong. Nobody is saying that "octopodes" is the best choice.

    2. Re:Automobile, feh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "autokineticon"

      Dude, I had those transformers! They were freakin' awesome!

    3. Re:Automobile, feh! by blue_adept · · Score: 1

      hey buddy, your wife's art is kind of on topic!!

      --

      "Is this just useless, or is it expensive as well?"
  58. And I for one welcome our new mollusk overlords. by __aahrlq8808 · · Score: 1

    Octopuses may be mad smart and walkers, but they still only live a year or two. The only octopuses that could lord over us would be ones we genetically modified.

  59. ummm... by moo_penguin · · Score: 1

    does anyone notice how slashdot has become a dupe of news.google.com?

    1. Re:ummm... by dangitman · · Score: 0
      Maybe it's the other way around, and the news has become a dupe of slashdot?

      Wait. Forget I said that. I don't want to see the New York Times running "First Article!" headlines on the front page. And I definitely don't want to see a Beowulf cluster of Washington Posts in Soviet Russian.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
  60. Octopi !!! by jalet · · Score: 1

    So yummy !

    Just throw away what's inside as well as the eyes and mouth, then cook them for one hour in boiling water, peel them, cut them in 1 cm slices, then eat them cold with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, olives, spices, salad...

    Delicious !!! That's why I like to capture them while snorkeling.

    That being said they are really really fascinating and funny creatures. Just for fun try to give them some dead fish in your hand, they will come and take it away from you to eat it in they nest (usually below some rock).

    --
    Votez ecolo : Chiez dans l'urne !
  61. It is worksafe. Tentacle sex not considered erotic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't be scared of watching the video at work.

    Tentacle sex is not considered erotic or pornographic by American office managers. They are simple unfamiliar with the tentacle sex fetish and think its just a boring National Geographic documentary.

    Don't worry you won't get into trouble all I got was a Jacques Cousteau DVD for my birthday as my coworkers thought I was into boring sealife docus.

  62. Scientists! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Put octopuses in virtual reality and make them do all sorts of cool stuff.

  63. 20,000 Leagues under the sea by Eatmorecake · · Score: 0, Informative

    The New(er) version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the classic Disney movie, which I saw again recently. Go rent it. It's got a CRAZY documentary on the Humbolt Squid, which I think they said reaches 12 feet. These suckers (Pardon the pun) are fierce. They bash heads.

    It's also just a good movie in general, but it is worth seeing the DVD for the short (8-10 minute) documentary on the Humbolt Squid, which was the inspiration for the Giant squid in the movie.

    --
    Don't you mean.. BIZZARO! ..Signature?
    1. Re:20,000 Leagues under the sea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Save us your technobabble. Us normal people think squids are cool because they have tenticles and change color and kick ass!

  64. Life is short... by FridayBob · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...for an octopus. These creatures never cease to amaze me; they're absolutely fascinating. It's therefore such a pity that they all have such short lives: once they reach sexual maturity, they reproduce and die. Most do not live more than one or two years. The giant Pacific octopus lives longer than most: males about 4 years and females about 3.5.
    Perhaps it's their reproductive strategy which is to blame. The females produce zillions of little eggs, which they guard with their lives, but do not take care of the young once they've hatched. Having been so successful in producing so many offspring, there's no evolutionary advantage for them to be around any longer and so they die. Being part of the same reproductive strategy, the males don't last much longer either (actually, I can't think of any examples in the natural world where one sex significantly outlives the other).
    As I was saying, life is short for an octopus.

    1. Re:Life is short... by deimtee · · Score: 1

      Being part of the same reproductive strategy, the males don't last much longer either (actually, I can't think of any examples in the natural world where one sex significantly outlives the other).

      Praying mantis and black widow spider :)

      --
      I'm guessing that wasn't on their radar screen...
    2. Re:Life is short... by FridayBob · · Score: 1

      Those are cases where the males are often (but not always) eaten by the females just after (or even during) mating. Perhaps that, as a result of this practice, these males will often end up expiring a little sooner than otherwise, but I'm not sure that they simply have significantly shorter lifespans to begin with.

    3. Re:Life is short... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Killer whale females often live 75% longer than the males - It's thought to be because they need to rear the young for many years, whereas the male is not involved at all.

    4. Re:Life is short... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But at least they die happy, right?

    5. Re:Life is short... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Biological balance for smart preditors?

      I guess if they're not going to be coddle by a mom, they'll need to danmed smart staight out of the bag.

      As for the short lifespan, it makes sense. These things don't migrate or follow their food around the ocean and considering how much smarter they are than their prey, it only makes sense that they life fast, short lives.

      Has some pretty interesting implications...

  65. Sharks with internet access by Dangero · · Score: 2, Funny

    Crap, I hope the sharks over there don't have internet access or these octopi are in some serious trouble.

    1. Re:Sharks with internet access by aluminumcube · · Score: 1

      http://video.pbs.org:8080/ramgen/wnet/nature/octop us/sharkT1.rm?altplay=sharkT1.rm According to this video, an octopus has little to worry about from a shark...

  66. virodes? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So then instead of saying viri or viruses I should say virodes?

    Sounds a hell of a lot better then 'virii' and if you know latin, its just as correct.

  67. Okay... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Since we're calling things by the most popular terminology: My hard drive was acting up, so I took my CPU into the store. They said I didn't have enough megahertz for the software I was running, so I asked them to buy me more. when I came home I asked my neighbor boy to download my bonzai buddy again. He had to bring over the internet because I didn't have that anymore either. The rascal said I should click on this fox-thing on my computer instead of the internet to surf the web. I wish he'd just put the internet back, but as long as I can sell my knitting on ebay I'm happy.

    1. Re:Okay... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      not surprisingly, it was pretty straightforward to understand what you were saying, so i'm fine with your english

  68. Yahoo! News story has a streaming video clip... by antdude · · Score: 2, Informative

    Click here for the story and streaming video clip.

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  69. Mod Parent Down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    moronic americans

    Redundant.

    1. Re:Mod Parent Down by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not really. "Moronic US americans" would be redundant.

  70. Soft tissue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    And why are octopi in the hardware section?

    Maybe they got a boner? I dunno...

  71. Let me be the first to say I, for one, welcome... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh.

    dammit.

  72. Geckos, Otopus, and Robots by AndOne · · Score: 3, Informative

    I actually saw a talk by one of the people involved in the work being done at Berkeley on this very subject Thursday. His names Robert J. Full and he's with the Biology dept at Berkeley. His and his students work have inspired an entire host of materials engineering and robotics applications. For instance his work with geckos has lead to work being done on producing nanoscale nonsticky adhesives which are based on van der Waal forces. Also based on his studies of the cockroach(and again his students) we're seeing some robots which are capable of climbing up walls and transversing really really rough terrain. Definitely someone to keep track of if you're interested in biological inspiration for engineering.

    --
    I don't care what you say, all I need is my Wumpabet soup.
  73. Wily /. is so slow at picking up this report... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes, it's interesting but jeez guys, it's not fresh. Whatever happened to the cutting edge /.? I mean it's getting so that the 'news that matters' is showing up days after it's debut. Anyway, there are some movies here. Which may be old news as well ;-)

  74. Octopuses by AlphaBrav · · Score: 1

    Octopus is of Greek and not Latin origin. Therefore the (more) correct plural is Octopuses.

  75. Re:But.... by arose · · Score: 1

    I think they would run from penguins...

    --
    Analogies don't equal equalities, they are merely somewhat analogous.
  76. Welcome Squid Overlords by Alien54 · · Score: 1

    Couple of months back Boing Boing pointed to a news story reporting that global warming has created such favorable conditions for squids that the cephalopod biomass is now greater than the human biomass. We don't know how many there are or how big they get. We are NOT ready. Play it smart.

    --
    "It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
  77. Curse them! by numbski · · Score: 1

    Curse those evil octopi.

    --

    Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).

  78. Oh my God by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That reminds me of a person with an upturned garbage can sneaking away from danger that you might see on several movies or cartoons. What a hoot!!

  79. mechatronics by nounderscores · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That's because using torque to generate torque is easy to calculate.

    If it's easy to calculate, it's easy to model. if it's easy to model then its less risky to build, and you know why it doesn't work when it doesn't work.

    Of course there are a few undergrad mechatronics engineers at my university that want to do what you say. Let them see the math. If they crack the math, then I'll sign up to pay them for my first hardsuit.

    1. Re:mechatronics by blair1q · · Score: 1

      Every crane designer on Earth can do the trig necessary to calculate torques due to linear actuators bridging joints.

      Regardless, calculating the torques is a waste of time. There's no computational device in your bicep. Simple feedback, goniometry, and a trajectory-planning mechanism are all you need.

      Some day the robotics hackers will get that.

  80. I object by airship · · Score: 1

    There outta be a rule that the original /. poster CANNOT include in his post any of the standard tired old slashdot response jokes, i.e.:

    (1) I, for one, welcome, etc.
    (2) In Soviet Russia...
    (3) Any Simpsons reference.
    (4) 1,2,???,Profit!

    And I'm just too darn outraged to think of the others right now, but YOU know what they are!
    The very idea, depriving /.ers of their major form of amusement! Next thing you know, all original posts will begin with "frist prost!".

    --
    Serving your airship needs since 1995.
  81. Re:And I for one welcome our new mollusk overlords by gnu-generation-one · · Score: 1

    "Octopuses may be mad smart and walkers, but they still only live a year or two. The only octopuses that could lord over us would be ones we genetically modified."

    US presidents are only around for 4 years, and that's without genetic modification...

  82. Damn it by foreverdisillusioned · · Score: 1

    Aw, GREAT, now that you've said that it's been slashdotted!

    Oh, what? Oh, uh, YEAH! Horrible, vile perversions! Grandparent should be banned, or something. ;p

  83. Arms? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    by using two of their arms as legs.

    Why aren't they using two of their legs as legs? What makes a limb an arm vs. a leg? I'm pretty sure that chimpanzees can do the same things with their legs/feet as with their arms/hands, so why don't chimps have 4 arms?

  84. Play Chariots of Fire and watch rolling.mpeg on... by Rolling_Go · · Score: 1

    a loop. Not only are they sneaky, they're funny too.

    --
    sup
  85. Squid - The True Overlords by biomech · · Score: 1

    How quickly we forget the lessons of Babylon 5.

    Remember what the Vorlon ships looked like - and what the Vorlons looked like outside of their encounter suits? Remember how ugly it is to deal with a pissed off Vorlon?

    As for how big squid get - a Vorlon mothership makes Moby Dick look like an anchovy filet on a large all toppings pizza.

    You have been warned!!!

    --
    We have met the enemy and he is us - Pogo (Walt Kelly)
  86. Don't forget the dolphins! by pjt48108 · · Score: 1

    This reminded me of an Onion article, for which I believe the headline was,

    Dolphins Evolve Opposable Thumbs; Humanity says, 'Oh, Shit!'

    Soon they'll be thanking us for all the fish, too...

    --
    Mmmmmm... Bold, yet refreshing!
  87. MOD PARENT UP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That was INCREDIBLE!

    Moderators, where the hell are you?!?? It's a video of an octopus getting eating a fucking shark!!

  88. And I for one welcome our new mollusk overlords. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes, takoyaki is tasty.

    I welcome them too!

    Ensuing dialouge with said "overloards":

    "Of course you're our overloards!"
    "A knife? Why no, that's just a handy pointing utensile.
    (Whack! ...followed by dicing noises)
    (humms to self: knife goes in, guts come out)

  89. Bah! by Buskaatt · · Score: 1

    In Baja, the typical "diablo" squid story involves a hapless fisherman...

    What the quote fails to mention is that the "fisherman" is fishing for Humbolt squid.

    Sure they're "vicious" when you have dozens of fishing boats dropping bloody bait into the water as the squid come up for their nightly feeding.

    They're also "vicious" as the fishermen begin hauling them up with 6" long multi-barbed hooks that literally shred the squids as they're being drawn up.

    However, if there isn't any human squid fishing in the area you can swim with Humbolts with no problem. I wish I could link to the documentary I learned this from, but I can't find it.

    Bottom line: you screw with any top tier predator you're going to get aggressive behavior.