Mama, I’ m stuck!
Squeezing is a fun hobby for the youngsters of our kind but you will never hear an octopus crying for help. This is simply because they are THE masters of squeezing through any small opening or hole.
As this octopus skill is one of the most eye-opening, here at Octolab we were very eager to witness just how much an octopus would strech as it squeezes through smaller and smaller openings.
The Experiment Technicalities
Our research team decided to divide this experiment in five rounds by installing five rectangular glass panels in the observation tank, each with an opening in the middle. The length of this opening was kept steady at 11 inches (28cm) while the height was periodically reduced as follows:
First round: 1,38″ (3,5 cm)
Second round: 1,18″ (3 cm)
Third round: 3″ (2,5 cm)
Fourth round: 0,79″ (2 cm)
Fifth round: 0,70″ (1,7 cm)
Arnold, our acrobat for the day, is quite a big boy: He is 30″ (76 cm) long and he weights 4 pounds (1,8 kg). This, of course, did not prevent him from accepting the challenge with pleasure and making it look like not only the easiest but also the most entertaining trick he has ever performed.
Ready, Steady, Go!
Arnold passes through the first opening with record speed. He doesn’t even need to stop and think twice about his technique. In the second round, however, he becomes a bit more calculative as he dances through to the other side of the panel. As soon as all the tentacles are through, a small push is all it takes for his head to make it as well. Then Arnold shows just how wise he is during the third round when he needs to alter his method to get through: through go the first three powerful tentacles and up next it’s the head before the rest of the arms follow.
Hold your breath little fellow!
And may the force of your suckers be with you! Round fourth is an actual challenge for our octopus friend. He needs to stop and explore every step of the way, to carefully estimate and plan his next move sensibly. You can easily imagine him holding his breath before the final push for which he uses the power from all his suckers that he can place on the panel.
Well now, there must be another way…
Arnold brains are clearly struggling during the fifth and final round. He goes up and down, back and forth, in and out and still the math simply doesn’t work! But afterall he is an octopus so as he is doing his research he is smart enough to realize there is a much easier way to go home and rest after all these gymnastics. Why bother with all this squeezing? He uses pure muscle as he manages to remove the panel and then happily jump his way home. Time for some well-deserved relaxation…
