Octopus That Tastes You… Then Throws Shade

Wait—octopuses can taste you without licking… and they throw stuff. Each sucker has “taste-by-touch” sensors, so an arm can decide “yuck” or “yum” on its own. These chemotactile receptors latch onto greasy molecules stuck to surfaces—like big, curious tongues hunting in the dark. Now the spicy part: octopuses also yeet debris. They gather shells or silt, swing the siphon under their arms, and water-jet a tiny cannon shot—sometimes at other octopuses. Translation: handshake means you’ve been tasted; argument means incoming sandball. Smart, petty, and deliciously chaotic. Beats: • Hook: octopus tastes you and throws stuff • Reveal: suckers have taste-by-touch sensors • Arms make local “yuck/yum” decisions • Chemotactile receptors detect greasy molecules • Arms act like tongues in the dark • Switch: they also throw debris • Mechanism: siphon tucked under arms, water-jet launch • Behavior: throws sometimes hit other octopuses Sources: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9... https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7... Follow for science that tastes better than gossip. #science #weirdnature #ocean #mindblown #curiosity #fyp #learnontiktok #octopus