That Sounds Like an Issue for HR…
Co-workers can be great, until one of them stops pulling their weight or decides to take over. Humans have HR for just such moments. Underwater research teams have discovered that some sea creatures use a more, let’s say, direct approach. They have cooperation, and even some competition, but then things can get a bit more complicated in the workplace...
Today’s Trivia Question
What animal has been filmed punching fish while also hunting alongside them?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Bonus if you know how many hearts the animal in question has.
| A Few More for Fun… |
Before judging octopuses and their manners, we have to stop and acknowledge they are some of the most resourceful and clever creatures. So, maybe their impatience is warranted.
What discarded object have researchers recorded octopuses toting around as portable shelters?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
An octopus's central brain wraps around its food pipe. What familiar shape does it form?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
| A Few More Trivia Questions Before You Go… |
A portable home, questionable teamwork, and three hearts may be impossible to imagine, but there is a lot more to know about octopuses. Let’s look at escape stories, sporting events, really bad table manners, and a few other interesting things to know about them.
Science
An octopus’s suckers can grip, but what else can they do?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
History
What oddball competition drew divers to Washington’s Puget Sound in 1963?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Geography
Answers
| TODAY’S QUESTIONAnswer: C. An octopus. Some octopuses (yes, that’s the correct way to say it) hunt alongside fish that help locate prey. Their partnerships, however, aren’t always the most congenial or peaceful. Some researchers have documented octopuses striking fish with one of their arms, i.e., punching coworkers. One study suggests these punches help control partners that are not contributing to the hunt. Bonus points if you knew that octopuses have three hearts. Two of the hearts pump blood past the gills, and the third sends it around the body. Apparently having a lot of hearts isn’t the same as having a big heart, since the octopuses find it easy to slug their coworkers. | |
| 01 | Answer: B. Coconut shells. The variety of octopuses known as veined octopuses have been repeatedly observed collecting coconut shells, cleaning them, and carrying them to use as a hiding place. Finding the building materials is one thing; making a portable home is next level… |
| 02 | Answer: B. A doughnut. Its food pipe passes through the middle of its ring-shaped brain. That gives the term “thinking about food” an entirely new spin. |
| 03 | Answer: D. Taste what they touch. Researchers know that suckers feature sensors that detect chemicals on surfaces. These help the octopus recognize food…yes, they identify dinner by shaking hands with it! |
| 04 | Answer: B. The World Octopus Wrestling Championships. It was not octopus-on-octopus wrestling that the divers came to see. It involved divers attempting to pull giant Pacific octopuses from their hiding places. The Harbor History Museum says that 111 divers competed, with roughly 5,000 spectators. No one asked the octopuses what they thought about it. |
| 05 | Answer: A. New Zealand. Like every great escape artist, Inky left his keepers with a mystery: just how did he do it? Staff at the National Aquarium in Napier believe he slipped out of his tank, crossed the floor, and hopped into a drainpipe leading to the sea. Just think, you now know that somewhere in the world, an octopus might be punching a fish, thinking with its “doughnut,” sighing as a wrestler approaches, and all while carrying around a spare house. |
|
How did you do?
Score 1 point for each correct answer and 1 point for the bonus if you knew it. Perfect score: 7.
|
