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
Brain & Behavior
Comments
I think a guy from Newquay would have more of a West Country accent than Cockney!
However, what a great way of keeping such an intelligent creature entertained!
Posted by: Amy | January 11, 2008 3:30 PM
Wow! I never knew they got that big! Also, I am glad that Louis likes his Mr. Potato Head! LOL!
Dave Briggs :~)
Posted by: Dave Briggs | January 11, 2008 6:04 PM
Well, the story of Louis and his Potato Head pal is just soooo cute.
Darryl and his My Little Pony, not so much.
Posted by: Snail | January 12, 2008 9:03 AM
I suppose Louis would have enjoyed a real head just as well: The tongue, the eyes, the juicy brain bits sucked out through the ocular sockets
Posted by: milkshake | January 13, 2008 11:29 PM
Louis has marvelous taste in toys. I was wondering the other day what would happen if you could somehow extend the lifespace of octopods, since that seems to tbe the major limit of their intelligence. Then I wondered what would happen if you made a movie out of that, and realized there was limitless potential there for tentacular hijinks. At least of non-otaku kind.
Also, as the flip side of your friend's fascination, I totally played with GI Joe, Legos, He-man and Star Wars toys as a child, which I would incorporate in elaborate ways with the Barbies and My Little Ponies that people insisted on giving me. Walking down 'The Pink Aisle' in a toy store was a private hell for me.
Posted by: Jenbug | January 14, 2008 10:57 AM
Er, sorry, lifespan, not lifespace. Although that takes it in an interesting new direction, for sure.
Posted by: Jenbug | January 15, 2008 11:12 AM