It is always a pleasure to receive requests from our viewers and it is even greater a pleasure when the experiment requested turns out to be an easy and amusing task for our friend octopus.
The Viewer’s Request
User Anita Babácsi was very descriptive and gave us an accurate picture of her request:
“We all know that Arnold is a slave for his beloved barrel and he would do anything for it. Please place a transparent plastic divider with a smaller square-shaped lower opening to the middle of the experiment tank. There should not be another way for him to get through. Please cover the opening with tiles or any other removable obstacles (not too much, not too big, not too heavy). The barrel is on one side and the octopus is on the other side. Arnold’s task to figure out that he needs to remove the obstacles to get through to the other side. I am sure he can do it easily. By the way, Arnold is a relatively old octopus? I saw him acting like a cranky old man in two videos.”
Was Anita right to believe that Arnold can do it easily?
Preparing the Experiment
We begun by installing the transparent plastic divider, which was a familiar sight for Arnold from the Squeeze Challenge Experiment. Then we added three types of obstacles: a couple of colorful toys, plenty of small blocks and some small tiles. We pondered and discussed a bit if we should place the obstacles on the one side or the other but in the end, trusting in Arnold’s abilities, we decided to place them on both sides so that he would have to use different techniques for the removal of the objects. Hoping that Arnold would give us a good show, we installed three cameras to capture various angles.
The Octopus’ Memory
As soon as the experiment begins, Arnold amazes us all by heading straight to the middle part of the plastic divider! If you remember from our Squeeze Challenge video, Arnold had to pass through an opening which was located in the middle of the plastic divider. So we wondered with awe:
Is it possible that the clever octopus remembered that the opening was in the middle?
It definitely seemed like he did…
The Octopus Does the Math
When Arnold realizes that the opening is no longer to be found in the middle of the divider, he uses his sensor-arms to collect information about any other openings which are potentially big enough for him to squeeze through. A couple of his arms explore the blocked opening measuring the space between the obstacles and calculating which of them would create more space if they were to be removed.
But the tiles are too annoying and obstruct the fine operation of the octopus’ brains…They simply have to go! Arnold’s powerful suckers are attached to the tiles and the octopus pushes them to the side. Now he has enough space to settle comfortably next to the opening and do the rest of his math homework.
Mission Accomplished
Arnold starts removing the little blocks and struggles to get as many arms as he can on the other side when there is more tidying up to be done. The astounding fact about this experiment is Arnold’s Napoleonic capabilities: He is calculating, clearing up, and squeezing through at the same time! Also, it is fascinating how he only removes the absolutely necessary number of obstacles in order to make it through and does not care about the rest.
All he cares about, as you well know by now, is his beloved barrel.
‘At last’, we can almost hear him say as he hugs it affectionately, ‘we are reunited my precious!’
