How octopuses squeeze through too small gaps

Commenters focused on the title’s claim that octopuses squeeze through “too small” gaps. One explained that the study describes two strategies for different openings, while conceding that an octopus cannot pass through a gap that is genuinely too small. Suggestions included calling them “very small gaps” or describing an opening smaller than the animal’s body diameter; another commenter argued that the more precise version would be duller and less clickable. The discussion also prompted a playful description of an octopus as conscious water, alongside a reply that jellies seem a better fit and that consciousness in primitive creatures is debatable.

Several commenters found it funny that robotics was offered as a reason to study octopuses, while arguing that learning for its own sake should be enough. Others said researchers now have to attach practical justifications to basic science because funding and political scrutiny make curiosity-driven work harder to defend. One commenter contrasted today’s product-focused research with the long-range work once done at corporate labs, blaming tax cuts for their decline. Another pointed to political attacks on allegedly wasteful research and said scientists often frame projects around biomedical benefits or robotics to improve their funding prospects.