OCTOPUS- Handshake

Imagine for a moment that you’ve just been embraced by a forty pound octopus. Any idea how you would release yourself from its vicelike grip? Stay tuned. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.

Tamie Gray is a Museum Specialist who works with invertebrates at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. Today, she’ll introduce us to one of the zoo’s resident octopus.

“Now I’m gonna unbolt the lid. We have a Styrofoam lid that we keep bolted on in between feedings so that he won’t try to get out. And they don’t get out to be mischievous. They get out because they’re curious. They’re not dangerous animals, they’re not aggressive animals. They’re just very, very curious. They like to taste things and feel things and that’s all they’re really trying to do.”

But a hands on approach to an octopus can lead to complications: they’ve got a tendency to grab hold of an inquiring arm. And extracting yourself from an eight armed handshake can be a challenge.

“Your first reaction is to start pulling it off. Once you start pulling it off your arm, another arm gets hold of the hand that you’re pulling it off with and then another one and you’re completely entangled all the way up your arms with this octopus. Especially when you have a forty or fifty pound octopus. So keep one hand free. When he’s got hold of your arm, try to pull away with the same arm. Invertebrates have no bones. So this animal is pure muscle.”

And what does an octopus feel like?

“He feels like the inside of your cheek. So if you put your finger inside your mouth and rub the inside of your cheek, that’s what an octopus feels like”

Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.

OCTOPUS- Handshake

Would you know how to extract yourself from an eight armed Octopus embrace?
Air Date:09/10/1999
Scientist:
Transcript:

Imagine for a moment that you've just been embraced by a forty pound octopus. Any idea how you would release yourself from its vicelike grip? Stay tuned. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.

Tamie Gray is a Museum Specialist who works with invertebrates at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. Today, she'll introduce us to one of the zoo's resident octopus.

"Now I'm gonna unbolt the lid. We have a Styrofoam lid that we keep bolted on in between feedings so that he won't try to get out. And they don't get out to be mischievous. They get out because they're curious. They're not dangerous animals, they're not aggressive animals. They're just very, very curious. They like to taste things and feel things and that's all they're really trying to do."

But a hands on approach to an octopus can lead to complications: they've got a tendency to grab hold of an inquiring arm. And extracting yourself from an eight armed handshake can be a challenge.

"Your first reaction is to start pulling it off. Once you start pulling it off your arm, another arm gets hold of the hand that you're pulling it off with and then another one and you're completely entangled all the way up your arms with this octopus. Especially when you have a forty or fifty pound octopus. So keep one hand free. When he's got hold of your arm, try to pull away with the same arm. Invertebrates have no bones. So this animal is pure muscle."

And what does an octopus feel like?

"He feels like the inside of your cheek. So if you put your finger inside your mouth and rub the inside of your cheek, that's what an octopus feels like"

Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I'm Jim Metzner.