Everyone that knows me at all knows that I’m pretty much obsessed with octopuses. (And yes, the plural form of octopus is in fact octopuses. It is a popular belief that “octopi” is the plural form of octopus, however that would be attaching a Latin ending to word with a Greek root. Now those linguistic nerds out there are probably wondering, wouldn’t that make the plural form “octopodes”? Technically yes, however when the word octopus was integrated into the English language, it became treated as an English word, as explained at the beginning of this video here. Therefore, the official plural form of octopus in the English language is octopuses.) Anyway, back on track. Octopuses are cephalopods, which means they belong to the same taxonomic class as squid, cuttlefish, and nautiluses. There are over 300 species of octopuses which very so greatly that the smallest species only measures a centimeter and a half, whereas the largest species has an arm span of roughly fourteen feet. With so much variation, I’m sure you can tell there’s a lot of room for awesomeness. So, without further ado, here are ten reasons that octopuses are severely underrated:

1. They're brilliant escape artists.

They say that art imitates life. I guess that’s why the story of one octopus by the name of Inky, at the National Aquarium of New Zealand pulled off a feat straight from Disney’s “Finding Dory” in 2016 - just months before the Movie’s release. According to telltale suction-cup-prints found by attendants at the aquarium, Inky made his great escape by climbing up and out of his tank, making his way across the floor, and squeezing himself through a drain pipe leading out to the Pacific. Inky was never to be seen again. Hopefully, he’s enjoying his life as a free cephalopod somewhere out there.

2. When they're bored, they'll make you pay attention to them.

Anyone who’s ever tried to keep an octopus in captivity knows the equation: Octopus + Boredom = Destruction. This is especially true of workers at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium in California who arrived one morning to find offices and enclosures flooded in 2009. Throughout the course of the night, one resident two-spotted octopus decided to occupy her time by teaching herself some plumbing skills. Within hours, she was able to dismantle a water recycling valve above her enclosure and point it outwards, thereby unleashing 200 gallons of sea water into the area. Maybe next time her keepers can occupy her with a jigsaw puzzle instead.

3. Child-proof doesn't mean octopus-proof.

Octopuses are incredibly clever and love a challenging puzzle. In fact, an octopus by the name of Ozy at the Island Bay Marine Education Center in New Zealand wowed a crowd in 2014 when he managed to open a childproof jar in just 54 seconds! Captive octopuses are often given similar tasks to keep them occupied, but even the quickest ones tend to take at least two full minutes.

4. They are masters of disguise.

Chameleons are often praised for their ability to change color, but octopuses are the masters in that department. They have highly advanced chromatophores that enable them to change color and pattern both for camouflage and communication. What’s more, they can even change texture thanks to special muscles under their skin that allow them to change it from smooth, to bumpy with horns and even ridges.

5. They are masters of contortion.

Octopuses have very few body parts that aren’t super squishy. The hardest part of their bodies tends only to be the beak they have hidden between all of their tentacles. This means that no matter how big an octopus is, anywhere their beaks can fit, they can go. For example, the octopus at the top of this list, Inky, was roughly the size of a football and the drain he squeezed through was only six inches wide.

6. They are excellent practical jokers.

When employees at Germany Sea Star Aquarium arrived several days in a row to find their electrical systems completely shorted out, they staged a stakeout to find the culprit. Who did they find? None other than six-month-old Otto the octopus, who had adopted a pastime of squirting water at an overhead light.

7. They will love you three times as much as anyone else.

The Octopus’s anatomy is full of oddities. They have three hearts! Two of them pump blood to the gills while one pumps blood to the rest of the body. They also have nine brains (sort of). They have one main brain in their heads, but they have eight mini-brains in each of their tentacles. Their arms really do have minds of their own.

8. They're excellent DIY shell makers.

Though Octopuses are in the mollusk family, they lack a hard outer shell. This predicament is no match for these cunning creatures, as they’ve been known to find and make their own. Octopuses living off of the Indonesian coast have been observed picking up discarded coconut halves from the ocean floor and carrying them around for protection. Other octopuses do the same with glass bottles, cans and even shells from other mollusks.

9. Lost arm? No Problem!

Octopuses, like starfish, have the power to regenerate lost and damaged limbs. Some lizards can do the same with their tails, however they grow back imperfectly whereas octopus tentacles regenerate to look almost exactly the same as they did originally. This process happens relatively quickly as well. In fact, some octopuses even rip off their own tentacles (which continue to move on their own for a few minutes) to confuse and distract predators.

10. Octopuses are ripped, dude.

Octopuses are an incredible 90% muscle. All of this muscle allows them to pry apart crabs and mollusks, move heavy rock out of the way, and change the texture of their skin, as mentioned before. Sounds like octopuses would make excellent gym partners!

BONUS!

11. They do this:

and this:

All in all, Octopuses are definitely some of the most amazing creatures on this planet. They’re highly creative, intelligent, and mischievous -not to mention, pretty stinkin’ adorable. They are my absolute favorite animal, and I would love to get to meet one in person some day. Hopefully, this article helped you love them as much as I do!