Ryers Readers - How to Get Your Octopus to School: Extra Episode!

Episode Date: January 8, 2024

Welcome friends! Let’s dive in to some super cool fun facts about octopuses!

Let's do this! Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. Don't forget to rate and follow, so you never miss out on all the Raiers Readers' Fun. This past Friday, we read a super fun story called How to Get Your Octopus to School by Becky Sharnhorst. This book is extra cool because it comes with a bunch of fun octopus facts I would like to share with you. Are you ready? Okay, let's do this.

Ten mostly true facts about octopuses. Number one. Octopuses don't live in houses or on land. They live in the ocean. Some will build their own shelter or den by moving rocks into place with their arms. Others live in abandoned shells, caves, or crevices. Most like to live alone, so, Don't be offended if you see a do not enter sign outside their door.

Number two. Most octopuses eat crabs, lobsters, mollusks, shrimp, and fish. Some have even been known to eat sharks or birds. They do not eat toast. If they did, it would get soggy, and that would be gross. Number three. Octopuses are able to quickly change their color and texture to match their surroundings. They can make themselves look like a smooth plant, a bumpy rock, or a patch of sand.

However, it's uncertain if an octopus have ever blended in with the living room curtains. Number four, octopuses have a sharp beak that is similar to a parrot. It can be used to bite or tear at the flesh of fish, crabs, and other animals they are eating. Unlike birds, octopuses do not have feathers. Number five. Octopuses don't have any bones, which means they can squeeze their bodies into tight places with openings just slightly bigger than their eye. They can hide in empty shells, bottles, cans, jam jars, mailboxes, toilet bowls, and maybe even mouse holes.

This makes them experts at hide and seek. Number six, when startled or threatened, an octopus will squirt ink. This cloud of ink makes it difficult for predators to see, taste, or smell, which allows the octopus to escape. So don't threaten an octopus or you'll need a bath. Not really, but you still shouldn't threaten an octopus because that's mean. Number seven. Even though many people call octopus appendages tentacles, the correct name is arms. Each arm can work semi-independently from the others, which means two could be reaching and grabbing for a tasty shrimp, while two more are jugging.

Number eight. Each octopus arm has many powerful suckers. Octopuses use their suckers to explore, open shells, taste, and smell. Their suckers also help octopuses give extremely tight hugs. Number nine. Real octopuses do not go to school, but many scientists believe they are intelligent. Some have been able to navigate mazes and solve problems. Others have been observed playing, which is a behavior found in intelligent creatures. Ping pong, anyone? Number 10. Some octopuses get around by using their arms to walk on the ocean floor, but all can use jet propulsion. Jet propulsion is when an octopusus, sucks up water into its mantle or body, and then expels it through a flexible tunnel, which pushes the octopus into the opposite direction.

This skill is especially handy when you're running late for school. Pretty cool, huh? Thank you so much for tuning into this special extra episode. Keep an eye out. You never know when a fun surprise might pop up in the Ryer's Reader's feed. Bye friends