TENTACLES
Curiosity Questions
Did you know? Humans and octopuses are both smart, sharing a common ancestor from 750 million years ago: a worm with eye spots.
The octopus has a really big head. How smart do you think it is?
Answer: The octopus is the smartest animal with no bones – about 1/20th as smart as humans. It has “brains” in each of its arms.
What do you think happens when a giant octopus loses an arm?
Answer: The octopus can re-grow the arm with no permanent damage. Also, the arm that was severed can still hunt prey and move
about for a while – because each arm has independent neurons.
How could an octopus so big fit inside the building?
Answer: Since octopuses have no bones (invertebrate), regular-sized ones can
squeeze through a hole the size of a lemon. This one could definitely squeeze
through a doorway.
What do you call more than one octopus?
Answer: We call them octopuses. The plural form ‘octopi’, formed according to rules for some Latin plurals, is incorrect.
Science Themes
• As a “monster of the deep”, the giant octopus is known for its bulbous head, bulging eyes,
eight long appendages (called arms, not tentacles), and its brains.
• The octopus is the smartest of all invertebrates (animals with no bones), able to memorize
its surroundings, learn from other octopuses, and even use tools\ (such as seashells) for
protection from predators.
• Neurons are specialized cells (tiny body parts) that use electricity and chemical to transmit
signals and make it possible to think. The octopus has about 500 million neurons.
TENTACLES
Science Themes
• While humans have one brain, the octopus has multiple brains (packets of neurons) that all work together as a network.
• The octopus’ main brain is only the size of a walnut, but each of its eight arms has packets of neurons, which researchers believe
think independently. Imagine if your feet and arms had minds of their own, moving about without your guidance.
• Octopus arms have suckers that can attach to things, stun and catch prey, and even smell
things.
• If it loses an arm when escaping a predator, it can re-grow it later with no permanent damage.
And the arm that was severed? Because it has neurons, it can survive for a while, catching prey
and moving about.
• All those neurons create intelligence -- and also individuality. Researchers have found that octopuses have personalities and can
express emotion through the changing colours of their skin.
• The giant octopus has a maximum arm span of 5 meters (16 feet) and mass of up to 50 kilograms (110 pounds). The largest giant
octopus known to man measured 9.1 meters (30 feet) across and weighed more than 270 kilograms (600 pounds).
• In other words, it weighed as much as a cow, but could stretch its arms from the ground to the top of a three storey building.
• Since octopuses are invertebrates, the creatures can squeeze their boneless body through spaces as small as a lemon.
TENTACLES
Makers and Making
THE ARTIST | Luke Egan – also known as Filthy Luker – is a mixed media artist who joined fellow artist Pete Hamilton in 1996 to
create inflatable art. The duo’s inflatable designs company, Designs in Air, has been commissioned to design inflatable installations
for Greenpeace, Cirque du Soleil, and the Paralympic opening ceremony of London 2012.
ART INSPIRATION | Many of Luke Egan’s art installations feature oversized inflatable creatures and objects – aptly named “Art
Attacks” – that transform the urban environment into whimsical, humorous places where strange things can and do happen. This is
especially true of Tentacles, a massive octopus whose colourful arms overflow from the iconic McGill Block building in Inglewood.
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION | Luke uses 3D design software to create complex inflatable installation designs. A team of seamstresses,
technicians, and riggers help bring the inflatable creatures to life.
THE LOCATION | McGill Block is a historic building constructed in 1911 by A. A. Dick, a survivor of the sinking of the Titanic. The
building was later redeveloped by Jack Long, a pioneer in urban architecture. The building is located in Inglewood, a trendy
neighbourhood east of Calgary’s downtown core. The community is bordered by the Bow River on its eastern flanks – perhaps giving
the giant octopus an escape route back to sea.
Sources
Artist and Designs in
Air installations
http://www.designsinair.com/
The Artist
http://www.filthyluker.org/
The Octopus
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/common-octopus/
http://www.onekind.org/education/animals_a_z/octopus
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/giant-pacific-octopus/