
Louis, an 18 month old, giant Pacific octopus at the Newquay’s Blue Reef Aquarium in the U.K. has a new best friend: a Mr. Potato Head doll. In this article on bbc.com, Matt Slater of the aquarium, talks about Louis’ love affair with the little plastic man (NOTE: This quote is a lot more powerful if you imagine it with the accent of the chimney sweep from Mary Poppins):”Its bright colours, strange shape and…
…moveable parts make it fascinating for Louis.The secret space within Mr Potato Head allows us to hide tasty treats like fresh crab inside and that perhaps more than anything has resulted in him becoming such a hit.” Apparently Louis gets really “excited” when he sees the toy and “plays with it for an hour at a time.”
Louis with his little potato buddy
Giant Pacific octopuses are known for their curiosity and their massive size. The bbc.com article points out that the largest one on record had an arm span of over 33 feet and weighed 600 lbs.
Little known fact– When Andrew was in elementary school he had a friend named Darryl who only played with My Little Pony dolls. For Darryl’s birthday all the other boys, including Andrew, had to bring him My Little Ponies. My parents sometimes regret allowing Andrew to spend all that time in the My Little Pony aisle at Child World in Southport, Connecticut looking for the perfect pink pony for Darryl. As much as we’d like to, however, we cannot change the past.
Louis is not the first creature to fish out “treats” from a Mr. Potato Head