Ocean wonders

Can octopuses use tools? 10 incredible facts about these creatures

Image: Maximillian Conacher

Have you ever wondered how octopuses live? How do they hunt, feed, and escape predators? They may not be the cutest animals on Earth, but it turns out they are able to do incredible things! Recent discoveries have revealed that octopuses are much more intelligent than we ever thought. These creatures can evaluate options, strategize, and even recognize other animals, including humans! If you want to learn more, join us as we reveal these 10 surprising secrets about the life of octopuses!

Image: Ashleigh Joy Photography

Today, we can find several species of octopus in our oceans, but this doesn't mean that they are something recent. In fact, it's quite the opposite.

Octopuses have been around for a long, long time. The oldest known relative of cephalopods dates back about 330 million years. That's a really long time ago! This ancient fossil, discovered in what is now Fergus County, Montana, belonged to a creature with ten arms.

So much time navigating the seas has served them well, allowing octopuses to develop skills we humans can only dream of.

Image: Roger Darnell

Chameleons might be famous for their camouflage skills, but they're not the only ones with this superpower. Blending into the surroundings and becoming practically invisible is an art practiced by octopuses, too.

Even though they have many arms to hide -8, to be exact- this is not a problem for octopuses when it comes to camouflage. Octopus skin is quite different from ours: they have special cells called chromatophores that let them change not only the color of their skin but also the texture! And that's not all; this process only takes a couple of seconds, adapting their colors and textures to blend with sand, corals, rocks, and any other surface.

Image: Heidi Bruce

Octopuses not only blend in with the colors and shapes of their surroundings but can also mimic other creatures. That's right, they are masters of disguise.

Like a comic book villain who changes appearance to trick others, the mimic octopus can alter its color and shape to resemble other animals in its environment, often choosing to impersonate the shapes of the creatures most feared and avoided by predators.

This octopus can imitate, for example, a venomous sea snake by sporting stripes of different colors and wiggling its arms in a snake-like dance, copying both its appearance and behavior!

Image: Αντωνης Κοροτσάκης

To imitate and adapt, octopuses need to be aware of their surroundings and recognize different places and animals. And they do it.

Octopuses can recognize other sea creatures, and some research even suggests they might recognize humans. There have been documented cases where researchers return to visit the same octopus in the sea, and the octopus often develops a gradual trust in them. Amazing!

There's a reason for all this: besides their excellent vision and sensory perception, octopuses also have an exceptional memory that helps them retain and use new information.

Image: Aaron Burden

Certain abilities are clear signs of high intelligence in animals, and using tools is one of those.

Octopuses use objects from their surroundings, adapting them to suit their needs. Take the veined octopus, for example. This species collects shells to use as a shelter when escaping predators or as a shield when dealing with difficult prey. Amazing, right?

But that's not all! These octopuses have also been observed gathering shells and carrying them for future use. This behavior suggests not just intelligence and good memory, but also the ability to plan ahead!

Image: Sunira Moses

All that knowledge and skills are packed into a huge brain.

As we've seen, octopuses offer much more than just 8 arms and an extensive color palette. These animals also have impressive intelligence and a highly complex nervous system, which is reflected in the large size of their brains. In fact, their brain-to-body ratio is one of the highest among invertebrates. In other words, their brain is really big, considering their body proportions.

Given all that this creature is capable of, the size of its brain is no surprise.

Image: Kostas Morfiris

Octopuses are great at problem-solving. They not only learn from their experiences but also remember the knowledge, locations, and animals they encounter, using this information for future situations.

All this makes them great learners and excellent performers. In different experiments, both in captivity and in the wild, octopuses have demonstrated their ability to open jars, navigate through mazes with ease, and elaborate complex strategies for hunting, among other surprising behaviors. Many octopuses, for example, hide near the paths of passing crabs and wait for the perfect moment to launch a surprise attack. A real ambush!

Image: rivage

A single heart isn't enough to keep a large brain, a mutable body, and 8 long tentacles irrigated.

That is why octopuses have the privilege of possessing no less than 3 hearts, all with a well-defined function. 2 of these hearts are responsible for pumping blood to the gills for oxygenation. Then, the third heart, the systemic heart, circulates the oxygenated blood throughout the rest of the body.

Want to know more? The third heart stops beating when the octopus swims!

Image: Yaselyn Perez

There's a lot we can say about octopuses, but calling them selfish isn't one of them. Why? Well, let's see.

When octopus mothers lay their eggs, they reserve all their focus, dedication, and energy to caring for them. The mother cleans, protects, and arranges the eggs, never taking her eyes off them. In doing so, it abandons all other activities, even stopping eating entirely.

Unfortunately, by not eating, the octopus becomes weak and debilitated. As a consequence, once the eggs hatch, the mother often doesn't survive.

Image: engin akyurt

Octopuses might not be royalty, but they do have blue blood! That's right; these creatures never stop surprising us. First, they have 3 hearts, and now they show us blood that's literally blue!

How is it different from our blood? Human blood contains hemoglobin, which has iron and gives it its characteristic red color. On the other hand, the blood that circulates in the incredible bodies of octopuses contains a protein called hemocyanin, which is what makes the difference. Hemocyanin contains copper, which gives the blood its blue color when it's oxygenated.

A journey through the linguistic melting pot we call English

10 everyday words we borrowed from other languages

Image: Glen Carrie

English is like that friend who travels the world and comes back with souvenirs from every country, except instead of collecting snow globes, our language has been collecting words for over a thousand years. From Viking raids to Indian spice routes, English has never met a foreign word it didn't want to adopt. Here are ten everyday words that packed their bags and moved to English permanently.

Image: Dennis Klein

You probably slather it on fries without thinking, but "ketchup" traveled incredibly far to reach your table. The word comes from Chinese "kê-tsiap," originally a fermented fish sauce from Fujian Province. British sailors discovered this tangy condiment during the 1600s trading adventures and brought both recipe and name back home.

The transformation from fish sauce to tomato condiment happened gradually as recipes traveled through Southeast Asia to America. By the 1800s, American cooks had swapped fish for tomatoes, creating today's sweet red sauce.

Image: Karolina Grabowska

"Barbecue" comes from the Caribbean Taíno people. Their word "barbacoa" described slow-cooking meat on raised wooden platforms over fire. When Spanish explorers arrived in the New World, they adopted both the cooking technique and the name, which eventually became English "barbecue."

The Taíno were indigenous people whom Columbus first met in 1492. From Carolina pulled pork to Texas brisket, we're all participating in a 500-year-old culinary tradition.

Image: Matthew Tkocz

Next time you're lathering up, thank Hindi for "shampoo." The word comes from Hindi "chāmpo," meaning "to massage." Originally, it didn't involve hair cleaning—it described full-body massage techniques popular in Indian bathhouses. British colonial officers discovered this relaxing practice and brought the word to England.

The transition from massage to hair-washing happened gradually. By the 1860s, British hairdressers used "shampoo" for washing and massaging scalps with soap and water. Commercial shampoo wasn't invented until 1930, but the word was already established.

Image: Jessica Loaiza

Few words brought humanity as much joy as "chocolate," thanks to the Aztecs. It traces back to "xocolātl" in Nahuatl, the Aztec language. This wasn't sweet candy—it was a bitter, frothy drink made from cacao beans, often spiced with chili peppers, served to warriors and nobility. Spanish conquistadors initially weren't impressed by this strange, bitter beverage.

Everything changed when someone added sugar. Spanish monks in Mexican monasteries began sweetening the drink, creating an instant hit among European aristocracy. The word traveled with the recipe, reaching England and evolving into the familiar "chocolate" pronunciation we know today.

Image: C. Shi

Your comfortable nightwear has surprisingly exotic origins. "Pajamas" comes from Persian and Urdu "pāy-jāma," literally meaning "leg garment." These weren't originally sleepwear—they were loose, comfortable pants worn during the day in India and Persia. British colonials adopted them as cool, practical clothing for hot climates, but they gradually became associated with bedtime.

The sleepwear transition probably happened because these garments were perfect for home relaxation. By the early 1900s, pajamas became standard nightwear for well-dressed Americans and Europeans.

Image: Hu Chen

When you think "safari," you picture jeeps bouncing across African savannas, but the word comes from Arabic. "Safar" simply means "journey" or "travel," used throughout the Middle East and North Africa long before anyone photographed lions. The word entered Swahili as "safari" and reached English through European explorer accounts in East Africa.

The romantic safari notion as an African wilderness adventure was largely created by writers like Hemingway and 1920s wildlife photographers. What started as simply "trip" in Arabic became synonymous with exotic adventure and wild animals.

Image: Kike Vega

The ancient practice filling modern studios gets its name from the Sanskrit "yoga," meaning "union" or "to yoke together." This referred to uniting mind, body, and spirit through physical postures, breathing, and meditation. For thousands of years, yoga remained within Hindu and Buddhist traditions in India, practiced by dedicated spiritual seekers.

The journey from ancient ashrams to suburban fitness centers began in the 1960s when Eastern spirituality became popular in America. What started as a profound spiritual practice evolved into everything from "hot yoga" to "goat yoga." Whether achieving enlightenment or just touching your toes, you're participating in a 5,000-year-old tradition.

Image: Henrik L.

Long before Hollywood fame, "zombies" were part of Haitian folklore. The word comes from "zonmi" in Haitian Creole, derived from "nzambi," meaning "god" in several African languages. In Vodou tradition, zombies weren't flesh-eating monsters but people whose souls were captured by sorcerers, leaving them trance-like. This was considered worse than death.

The word entered English through early 1900s ethnographic studies but took off after 1932's "White Zombie" starring Bela Lugosi. Hollywood transformed the concept from tragic spiritual victim to shambling, brain-eating creatures.

Image: Chelsea Audibert

"Vanilla" might mean "boring" today, but it has unexpectedly spicy origins. It comes from Spanish "vainilla," diminutive of "vaina," meaning "sheath" or "pod." Spanish conquistadors described vanilla orchid pods that the Aztecs used to flavor chocolate drinks. The shape reminded them of female anatomy: "vaina" was also a sexual euphemism.

Spanish essentially called it "little sheath," with intentional innuendo. This exotic spice was so rare and expensive that it was reserved for royalty. How it became "plain" is mysterious—probably because vanilla became America's default ice cream flavor. Ironically, something once exotic and suggestively named is now considered the boring option. Aztecs, who valued vanilla above gold, would be mystified by our casual attitude.

Image: NASA

Our final word returns to the Caribbean and Taíno people. "Hurricane" comes from "huracán," their storm god's name. This deity controlled powerful cyclones that regularly devastated Caribbean islands. Living in "Hurricane Alley," the Taíno had extensive experience with these massive storms and their destruction.

Spanish explorers encountering these devastating systems adopted the Taíno word along with a healthy respect for the storms. The word spread through European languages as more sailors experienced these tropical nightmares. It's fitting we still use the original Taíno word because, despite modern meteorology and satellite tracking, hurricanes remain as mysterious and powerful as the ancient storm god they're named after.