I knew there’s a flying squid that likes to post memes though

If a squid swimming near the surface is spooked by a predator or a boat, it streamlines into a torpedo shape and fires itself out of the water. At the same time, it splays its eight tentacles into a flat, fan-like pattern in front of its face – some breeds even exude mucus to fill in the spaces, creating a unified, kite-like surface. It also flares a pair of fins near its rear end and – voilà – the squid becomes a living, breathing jet.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      21
      ·
      6 hours ago

      I did know! One day many years ago (we’re talking 1990s here), I was talking to people on IRC and I said, “you know what would be awesome? If squid could fly.”

      And then I looked just for the hell of it and it turns out they can. I’ve been FlyingSquid ever since.

      I still think that’s one of the coolest things in nature.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      6 hours ago

      Yes indeed! See my response to Viking_Hippie about getting my username. It is due to this awesome fact.

        • ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          3 hours ago

          Are you one of the species that rips theirs off and hucks it at the female to prevent being eaten?

          Maybe I’m thinking of an octopus…

            • ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              3 hours ago

              Apparently I’ve been misled as the octopus I was thinking of, the argonaut, doesn’t actually have a detachable hectocotylus.

              Zefrank lied to me.

      • BougieBirdie@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        5 hours ago

        That’s interesting, when I was a kid I remember always hearing that an octopus has eight tentacles and a squid has ten. I suppose ‘limbs’ might have been a more accurate descriptor.

        Oddly, I knew that cuttlefish have a distinction between arms and tentacles. I’m not in biology, but I always thought of them as tiny squid, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they were related.

        If you’re correcting me on the joke, it’s a pun where “ten tickles” sounds like “tentacles.” The number ten is unrelated to the number of limbs - it’s actually usually told about an octopus

    • protist@mander.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      17
      ·
      15 hours ago

      Wait wait wait…you have no idea how a squid would react if you tickled it. What if it freaked out and bit your nose off? First you need to cautiously do a test tickle

  • Hobbes_Dent@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    14 hours ago

    When the day gets late the Squid dons its little propellers and crosses the heavens squirting the night sky until the cuttlefish of day chases it forever westward.