Piecost.Net

A small octopus in a tank in Santa Monica Aquarium flooded its exhibit space with 200+ gallons of water, when it took apart a valve on top of the tank, and pushed the water hose out over the side.

The tiny octopus, which is about the size of a human forearm when its appendages are extended, floated lazily in the water that remained in its tank.

It watched intently through glass walls and portholes as workers struggled to dry the place out in time for the day’s first busload of schoolchildren to arrive on a 9:30 a.m. field trip.

[LATimes, via BoingBoing]

Right, well that’s the cloaking device sorted out.

I tell ya, they’re just waiting for the signal from the mothership…

[via Inquisitr]

The octopus is a frigging scary animal.  I use the singular because I’ve no idea how one refers to more than one of them – my tip would be to stick to the old favourite, “Hi I’ll have an octopus please.  And while you’re there, get me another one!”.  They’re not scary in the traditional sense of immediate danger or viciousness – it’s more that they’re hyper-intelligent, sadistic, perfectly limber, and you can call it paranoia if you like, but I just know they’re waiting for a signal from the mother ship – at which point they’ll all rise up out of the oceans and enslave humanity.

Anyway, in absolute support of this theory, ABC News recently featured an octopodal bulletin:

An octopus will be released from a New Zealand aquarium after escaping from a tank and surviving five days on the run.  Last month Sid mysteriously vanished from his tank at a Dunedin aquarium.  Five days later, he was spotted by a staff member making a dash for the door.  Sid had been hiding out in a drain, which pumps fresh sea water into the aquarium.

[thanks Fi!]