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The Cutest Octopus

2019-08-02 · explainer · Hank · 4:00 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Science & nature (also: Projects) · mode: Curiosity & trivia · tags: recurring series, self promotion, fundraising ask

Making his bizarre-beast videos monthly for a year, Hank introduces the Dumbo octopus, a deep-living cirrate octopus with ear-like fins whose females store sperm until conditions suit, then launches a Bizarre Beasts pin subscription raising money for maternal health in Sierra Leone.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — The bizarre-beast idea becomes a monthly video for a year; octopuses in general

  • ★★★ Following up his mola mola promise to bring John weird animals more often, Hank will make one video a month for the next year about a weird, amazing animal. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Octopuses are weird, with chemical-sensing suckers, distributed nervous systems and gelatinous muscle bodies. — 00:00:16
  • ★★ People say the beak is an octopus's only hard part, letting it fit through anything larger; Hank says that is true of only some octopuses. — 00:00:25

00:00:29 — The Dumbo octopus: cirrate octopuses, ear-like fins, species count, depth, deep-sea breeding

  • ★★ Octopuses form two suborders, Cirrina and Incirrina. — 00:00:36
  • ★★ Cirrate octopuses have internal shells like squids and use them to anchor muscles, because they swim differently from incirrate octopuses. — 00:00:43
  • ★★ Cirrate octopuses have flappy fins above their eyes that look like ears; a group named for them, the Dumbo octopuses, use them to swim and steer. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ There are 13, possibly 14 or 11, known Dumbo octopus species; scientists are confused because several were found only once, one not since the 1800s. (hedged) — 00:01:13
  • ★★ Their rarity doesn't mean humans destroyed them: they are probably fine and just live in hard-to-reach parts of the ocean, with probably many more species unknown. (hedged) — 00:01:33
  • ★★ Dumbo octopuses usually live between 10,000 and 13,000 feet deep. — 00:01:45
  • ★★ One species has been found 23,000 feet down; the deepest spot in the ocean is 36,000 feet below sea level. — 00:01:56
  • ★ Most of the footage was taken by the Ocean Exploration Trust's exploration vessel Nautilus, which Hank thanks. — 00:02:05
  • ★★★ The deep sea's biggest problem is breeding: animals must first encounter a mate, and when they do, the female likely lacks spare energy and a good place to lay and protect eggs. — 00:02:10
  • ★★ Deep-sea animals survive mostly by moving very efficiently, eating slow-moving things and facing little competition. — 00:02:15
  • ★★★ A male Dumbo octopus hands a female a package of sperm, and she waits until she is in a good situation to care for eggs before fertilizing them. (playful) — 00:02:35
  • ★★ Hank says Dumbo octopuses are good: cute, strange, mysterious and great at family planning. (playful) — 00:02:50
  • ★★★ To raise money for the community's work decreasing maternal mortality in Sierra Leone, DFTBA Pin Pals launches a Bizarre Beasts pin subscription club. — 00:03:05 · DFTBA Pin Pals, maternal death, Sierra Leone, Nerdfighteria

00:03:13 — Bizarre Beasts pin subscription for maternal health; Esther Day tomorrow; thanks to Nautilus Live

  • ★★ Each pin comes in common, uncommon and rare versions; it costs $12 a month with free worldwide shipping, and the year's subscription is available only this week (week of 29 July 2019). — 00:03:25 · DFTBA Pin Pals
  • ★★ Hank notes Esther Day is tomorrow and tells everyone to get ready to tell the people they love that they love them. — 00:03:37 · Esther Day
  • ★ Hank calls the Ocean Exploration Trust's Nautilus Live project amazing; it livestreams constantly on YouTube. — 00:03:46 · YouTube

Humor (significant)

  • Footage of a Dumbo octopus interrupts Hank's species count — 00:01:27

    “Oh my God, what are you doing? That's really cute.”

  • Hank voices a male Dumbo octopus handing over sperm — 00:02:35

    “Hey! Use this whenever it works for you. Bye.”

  • After explaining the 'ears' are fins — 00:02:55

    “Look at those ears. I know they're not ears, but look at them anyway.”

  • Hank reveals a Dumbo octopus pin on his lapel — 00:03:13

    “It was there the whole time. No, it wasn't. I wasn't wearing this before.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Dumbo octopus

Also: Projects: DFTBA Pin Pals

Organizations: YouTube

Rituals: Esther Day

Concepts: Cirrina · deep sea · Incirrina · maternal death · ocean sunfish · octopus · spermatophore · squid

Places: Sierra Leone

Only in the description or credits: Ocean Exploration Trust

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