About

Cephalopods are marine molluscs that belong to the Cephalopoda class, which includes octopuses, squids, cuttlefishes, nautiluses and the extinct ammonites. They are well-known for their exceptional intelligence in comparison to other marine invertebrate animals, distinctive arms and tentacles often covered with rows of circular suckers, as well as their ability to squirt ink and change color using chromatophore skin cells.

Online History

In 1995, marine biologist James B. Wood created The Cephalopod Page^[4] as a site for cephalopod-related news and information. In 1998, Wood^[2] launched the Cephbase^[3] online database to collect information about living species of the marine creatures. In December 1999, the website Tonmo^[1] was created, which features news articles, discussion forums and a media gallery dedicated to cephalopods. On March 12th, 2006, YouTuber Ashlee9685 uploaded marine biologist Roger Hanlon's footage of an octopus camouflaging itself against a coral (shown below, left). In nine years, the video received more than 1.4 million views and 1,000 comments. On May 18th, 2007, the National Geographic YouTube channel uploaded footage of a giant Pacific octopus killing a shark, gaining over 6.5 million views and 6,200 comments in the next eight years (shown below, right). On October 31st, 2008, the /r/Cephalpods^[10] subreddit was launched. On April 28th, 2009, the "Fuck Yeah Cephalopods" Tumblr^[5] blog was created, which highlights notable images and videos of the marine animals. .

On April 15th, 2010, YouTuber Victor's Videos uploaded footage of an octopus stealing his underwater camera and swimming away with it while it is still recording (shown below, left). On November 7th, YouTuber Capo2u posted a video of an octopus escaping a boat through a three inch opening (shown below, right). Within five years, the videos received more than 6.5 million and 10 million views respectively.

On May 16th, 2011, YouTuber rawkfish posted a video of a large octopus caught by fisherman in a kayak (shown below, left), which garnered upwards of 43 million views and 19,000 comments in four years. On October 8th, 2011, the first "Cephalopod Awareness Days"^[6] was held, which celebrates members of a Cephalopoda class each year from October 8th to the 12th. On January 8th, 2013, ABC News posted a video featuring the first recorded footage of a live giant squid (shown below, right).

On October 30th, YouTuber Ze Frank posted a video titled "True Facts About the Cuttlefish (shown below, left). On April 1st, 2014, Ze Frank uploaded a video titled "True Facts About the Octopus" (shown below, right). Within two years, the videos gained over six million views each.

Related Memes

Cthulhu

Cthulhu is a fictional monster created by horror writer H.P. Lovecraft that is often depicted as a large cephalopod-like creature with a tentacled mouth, large wings, clawed hands and scaly skin.

Paul the Octopus

Paul the Octopus was a common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) that lived at the Aquarium Sea Life Centre^[1] in Oberhausen, Germany, best known for successfully predicting the outcomes of Germany’s 2010 World Cup matches. In a divination, Paul would “predict” which team would win a match by choosing to eat a mussel out of one of two boxes marked with the flag of each team.

Octodad

Octodad is a third-person adventure video game series in which the player assumes the role of an octopus posing as the father of a nuclear human family. The game features frustrating controls that make it difficult to interact with the environment, in a similar vein to the Flash game QWOP.

Tentacle Erotica / Rape

Tentacle Erotica, also known as Tentacle Rape or shokushu goukan (触手強姦), is a theme often shown in Japanese erotica including novels and animation. It is often involved with a creature with tentacles using their said body part to rape any character in the type of media.

Squid Girl / Shinryaku! Ika Musume

Squid Girl (Known in Japan as Shinryaku! Ika Musume) is a Manga series by Author Masahiro Anbe, and later adapted into an anime on October 4, 2010. Since it’s original creation, the series has garnered a significant online fanbase, spawning a number of memes and fanart.

Squidward

Squidward is one of the main characters in the popular children TV series Spongebob SquarePants. The character has inspired several memes and is often used in Youtube Poop Videos.

Splatoon

Splatoon is a third-person shooter announced for Wii U video game console during the Nintendo Digital Event at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

Tako Luka

Tako Luka (Japanese: たこルカ), occasionally called “Octopus Luka” or “Octo-Luka” in the outside Japan, is a fanmade Vocaloid character inspired by Megurine Luka. In the same manner as Hachune Miku, this mutant character is a popular mascot in both the Vocaloid fandom and the official Vocaloid franchises.

Tentaspy

Tentaspy is an alternative depiction of The Spy from the game Team Fortress 2, giving him tentacles instead of legs.

Search Interest

External References