Thursday, October 27, 2011

Octopuses, not octopi

It's not everyday you read something that instantly makes you feel like a kid again. This delightful article on the minds of octopuses totally transported me back to being about 9-years-old, feeling full of wonder about the cool possibilities out there in the natural world.

I also learned a new grammatical point: "Octopuses, not octopi, is now considered the correct plural among the octopus intelligentsia. Octopi has been discarded as the plural because of its Latin ending on a Greek word."

6 comments:

paola said...

will have to pass that tidbit onto Zoe who informed me only recently that the plural was indeed 'octopi'. Then again, maybe I'll just let that one go. Don't want her going around correcting the teacher.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for sharing that gorgeous article. What a fabulous piece. And you helped me out, too. My husband's birthday is this weekend and he's now getting a subscription to Orion. Thank you, thank you!!

hush said...

@Paola - Wow! I'm impressed with Zoe's grammar skills! As long as Zoe isn't in the company of any avid marine biologist types, none will be the wiser. ;)

@Got It, Ma! - Glad you enjoyed the article, and glad I could be of service! ;)

Anonymous said...

but but... octopodes?
http://theoatmeal.com/story/octopus

Preschool said...

It's a sad ending to a great story. I've always been fascinated by them when I'm watching Discovery channel or Animal Planet. They're abilities of mimicry are a testament to their intelligence.

hush said...

@nicoleandmaggie - Hilarious link, thank you! I love the random orange crocs the mom is wearing in the illustration. Now that's an octo-mom I can get behind.

@Preschool - Amen!