Today is World Octopus Day!

Octopuses are clearly one of the most odd and interesting creatures living on Earth, so a day to celebrate them makes sense! I will share some fun facts about these unique animals - please be sure to share with the children you love - and then some ideas you might use to help the children you love make their own eight-legged friends. Did you know . . .

• Octopuses are ancient - some fossils predate dinosaurs!
• Octopuses are members of the class Cephalopoda, which means ‘head foot’ in Greek, while the name ‘octopus’ comes from the Greek word ‘októpus,’ meaning ‘eight foot.’
• Their arms have clusters of neurons in them, which allow different arms to do different tasks at the same time. 
• These neuron clusters may be considered to be brains. Thus, octopuses have nine brains, having a central one which controls their nervous system and one in each arm.
• Octopuses have not just one, but three hearts! 
• Sometimes called the chameleons of the sea, octopuses are often able to change colors to blend in with their surroundings as a form of protection against predators.
• According to a reliable study, all octopuses have venom. However, only the blue-ringed octopuses have venom which is lethal to humans.
• While octopuses have gills and are cold-blooded, they do not have backbones or scales. As a matter of fact, they don’t even have bones, hence their high flexibility.
• Octopuses have blue blood due to the presence of copper in the protein hemocyanin, which carries oxygen around their body.
• If an octopus loses an arm, it has the ability to grow it back.
• There are over 300 known species of octopus in the world.
• The biggest recorded octopus specimen had an arm span of 33 feet and weighed almost 600 lbs.

You will find out more about octopuses at this link.

Check this link for 23 fun octopus crafts - I especially love the handprint octopus - then gather supplies and the children you love to make some octopuses of your own! Enjoy!