Who is Paul - The Octopus?

Sociologist PU · #1 Sunday, July 18, 2010

I am unable to understand what is this octopus thing which was predicting about the winner of world cup football and now predicting about the winner of australian and russian election.

Is this an animal ? or something super-natural as all its predictions are proving true.

Zoyee · #2 Sunday, July 18, 2010

An Octopus is a cephalopod mollusk belonging to the order, Octopoda. Cephalopods consist of groups of free swimming invertebrates, such as squids, cuttlefish and octopuses, that lack a hard shell.

HISTORY AND LIFESTYLE

It is thought that through the process of evolution, the octopus lost its hard shell and has learned to live quite successfully as a soft bodied, tough skinned animal.

There are approximately 200 known species of octopuses. Larger species are most often found in cold, northern waters. Most make their homes in shallow coastal water and live inside dens or small caves at the ocean floor level. If no such items are available, octopuses will happily live inside old car tires, pots, jars and other debris.

Octopuses are considered anti-social, and live and travel alone. Octopuses frequently block the entrance to their homes with rocks and debris to keep others at arms length.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

The octopus does not carry a shell and typically has eight arms or tentacles, a round or pouch-like body and two large, very distinct eyes. Unlike other animals in its class, octopus can see objects.

Octopuses come in all sizes from 2-inches long to 18-feet in length. The most widely known octopus is the Common Octopus, which lives in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic oceans. The Common octopus reaches 10-feet in length. The larger, Giant Octopus, makes its home in the Pacific, and has a diameter of over 30-feet. Common North American octopus include the Common octopus, Giant octopus, and the American devilfish.

Octopuses are perhaps best known for their long, sucker carrying arms. The typical octopus has 8 arms, with each arm holding two rows of fleshy suckers. Each octopus has a total of 240 suction cups on the underside of each arm. If an arm is bitten off, diseased or otherwise missing from the octopus, a new arm grows back in its place. The arms are joined at the base of the octopus in an area known as the "skirt." In the center of the skirt, lies the the octopus' mouth. The mouth of the octopus contains a pair of sharp, horn-styled beaks and the radula, an organ used to drill shells apart and suck away fleshy meat.

Octopuses move by crawling along the bottom of the ocean with their arms. The octopus can use its suckers to grab on to rocks and pull itself with considerable force and speed.

EATING HABITS

The octopus seizes its prey by means of its sucker-bearing arms. It then pulls the prey into its mouth. A poisonous salivary secretion is emitted immediately, paralyzing the prey and partially digesting it. The octopus then chews, using both its horny jaw and radula.

Common prey of the octopus include crabs and lobsters. Several species of octopus feed on other shellfish, plankton and marine fish.

DEFENSE MECHANISMS

The octopus is thought to be the most intelligent of all the invertebrate animals. In an effort to protect itself, the octopus often constructs barricades made of large stones on the ocean floor. The octopus hides behind the barricade or in its crevices.

Much like squid, the octopus is also capable of producing a dark ink-like fluid from their internal ink sacs, which clouds the water and gives a message to approaching danger.

Octopuses are also capable of changing their color, depending on mood and environment. Rapid waves of color can sweep over the body of the octopus in seconds, and range from pink to brown. When in danger, the octopus often camouflages itself, by matching its body color to that of its surroundings.

BREEDING

Male and female octopuses reproduce sexually. The male is equipped with a sexual organ (on a modified arm) that deposits packets of sperm (known as "spermatophores") into the mantle cavity area of the female. Eggs, about 1/8-inch in size, are then encased in capsules and attached by the female to rocks or in holes. The female may deposit as many as 100,000 eggs at a time. It takes 4-8 weeks for eggs to hatch, during which time the female guards the eggs around the clock. Young octopuses hatch without a larval stage and appear as drifting plankton.

LIFESPAN

Although science has documented the existence of octopuses over the course of time, very little is known about certain areas of the octopus. Lifespan, for example, is not entirely understood. Studies in which octopus were raised from eggs in an aquarium produced varying results on the exact lifespan of the octopus. However, it is believed that the average lifespan of the octopus is just one year. Many believe that the octopus "lives fast and hard," always having the upper hand, because of their shortened life cycle.

RESEARCH STUDIES

It is thought that octopuses reach sexual maturity at the age of 5-months. Science has shown that octopuses possess an advanced brain that can be taught to do various things. Researchers have, among other things, successfully trained octopuses to remove lids from jars in order to gain access to food.

OCTOPUS DELICACY

Octopus meat has been considered a culinary delicacy for years. Many parts of the world prepare and cook octopus as a food source.

source: http://www.essortment.com/all/whatisanocto_rqdu.htm

stylish · #3 Sunday, July 18, 2010

thanks but the question is still there about PAUL the octopus and about its predictions

Shooting Star · #4 Sunday, July 18, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sociologist PU

I am unable to understand what is this octopus thing which was predicting about the winner of world cup football and now predicting about the winner of australian and russian election.

Is this an animal ? or something super-natural as all its predictions are proving true.

at the start i didn't believe what i saw but when one after one every prediction became true i really thought that there is something in that innocent little creature.it really has some god given power...

but as a Muslim i believe that all he has it bcoz of ALLAH ..only HE knows evrything....we should treat it as another miracle of ALmighty ALLAH and nothing more...

Sociologist PU · #5 Sunday, July 18, 2010

Thanks Zoyee for very informative article but the Question is still there.

I mean does he/she speak like a human being when he predict or utter some words.

@ shootingstar

Where did u see it ? I think it is placed somewhere in a musium ?

Abdussamad Chaudhary · #6 Sunday, July 18, 2010

O bhai,

If you would watch FIFA worldcup matches and sports news then you were not so much shocking about that. I think you are just reading about that.
Well, it is a sea invertibrate animal, invertibrate animals are without backbone animals, and it has 8 legs. It looks like star but has more arms than star. They give it two boxes with the names of options and it picks one, results are being correct most of the time but false once. It is accidentaly in my opinion.

Invincible · #7 Sunday, July 18, 2010

Dear Sociologist PU go throgh below links, you wil come to know how he predicts.

Subhan-Allah. All miracles are made by Him.

Jahanzebmemon · #8 Sunday, July 18, 2010

@ Sociologist PU

It doesn't speak. Only the boxes are put into the water and it sits on any one of them. And that's it, that's the prediction!

Sociologist PU · #9 Monday, July 19, 2010

OK OK now i understand. Thanks all.
It is something like TOTA FAAL in our culture. You give some money to its master and the parriot picks a card from the stack and the card has some writings about your fate and future. Interesting.

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