Transcription
This creature has lived on Earth for over 300 million years, and we still do not fully understand what it is. An octopus has nine brains, one in the center of its body, and one inside each of its eight arms. Every arm thinks for itself. It can taste, touch, and move on its own.
An octopus has three hearts and blue blood. The blood is blue because it uses copper instead of iron to carry oxygen, which works much better in cold, dark water. But here is the strangest part. When an octopus swims, its main heart stops beating completely. That is why octopuses would rather crawl, because swimming tires them out.
An octopus is completely colorblind. It sees the world in gray, and yet it can change its skin to match any color, pattern, or texture around it. An octopus has no bones anywhere in its body. The only hard part is its beak, which looks exactly like a parrot's beak hidden underneath its arms. Because of this, an octopus can squeeze its entire body through any gap its beak can fit through.
An octopus can recognize individual human faces and remember them. In one study, an octopus took a clear dislike to one staff member. And every time that person walked past the tank, the octopus squirted water at them. It never did this to anyone else. It held a grudge.
A female octopus lays up to 400,000 eggs and guards them without stopping for up to 7 months. She does not eat. She does not sleep. She does not leave. She blows water over them to keep them clean until every single one has hatched. Then she dies.
Every octopus you have ever seen was the reason its mother is no longer here. Nine brains, three hearts, blue blood. A body with no bones and a mother who gives everything. The octopus is not like anything else on this planet.