I live in an academic bubble into which very little pop culture penetrates. I guess a few years ago there was a movie called The Squid and the Whale? I have just learned of its existence. Disappointingly, it features no marine animals or underwater scenes (so obviously, I haven't actually watched it, and probably never will).

"Televison Without Pity" explains the problem:

We realize that the title is meant to refer to Jeff Daniels and Laura
Linney, who play intellectual parents whose relationship is
deteriorating. Locked in a constant struggle with each other for the

A couple of years ago, Dr. Kubodera, who has a remarkable talent for filming large, unusual squid underwater, got some footage of Taningia danae. This octopoteuthid squid is notable for a) being large, b) lacking tentacles as an adult, d) having big, bright photophores on the tips of two of its arms and c) swimming with fins rather than jet propulsion.

Addressing points a)-c), we have a 2007 article from National Geographic:

But you wouldn't know that from reading this article in the Winnipeg Free Press. It's like the definition of irresponsible journalism: repeating rumor as fact, failing to interview experts, and just flat-out making things up.

For example, did you know that "dime-sized suction cups on the tentacles of squid are lined with sharp teeth that leave permanent scars if they contact human skin?" No, you didn't, because it's not true. I've been scratched by these "teeth" countless times, and nope, no scars.

You're toxic, I'm slipping under . . .

The music video for Britney Spears' hit Toxic would have been so much better with truly toxic creatures in starring roles. Can you imagine the pop star serving drinks to newts, dancing with a pufferfish, and finally, of course, succumbing to the deadly embrace of a blue-ringed octopus?

Yay! "Squid Says: What's For Dinner?" made it into the finalists^*. To celebrate, here is one of my all-time favorite cephalopod pix.

I know, I know, it's a not a squid! But isn't it the cutest? The picture is by James Wood, who was the first to ever witness mating and hatching in this species--a deep-sea octopus named Bathypolypus arcticus. This pleasantly informative Latin name translates to "Arctic deep-water octopus."