Who is Oskar the Okktobot?
Oskar the Okktobot™ is our friendly and mischievous mascot, and the honorary ambassador for collecting. Why an Octopus? Simple, octopuses1 are awesome2, intelligent3, and industrious. They might also be the original4 collectors: octopuses have been observed, both in captivity and in the wild, decorating their dens with the shells of mollusks, crabs, and coconuts, as well as other random things they find lying around the ocean floor. These collections seem to be highly personal, with each octopus having preferences for specific items, which they artfully display in their dens. For example, scientists observed one octopus who had a preference for shiny items, while another favored colorful and vibrant objects. Another still only decorated her den with mint condition Pokémon cards. Go figure. Why is Oskar a robot octopus you ask? Well that’s a different story for another time…
- 1 Yes, the plural of octopus is octopuses because we get the word from a Greek root, octopodi. If the word were from a Latin root, the plural would be octopi. Scientists sometimes call them octopods.
- 2 Octopuses have three hearts! Some humans barely have one... 😏
- 3 Octopuses sleep—possibly even dream—just like humans!
- 4 Octopuses have been around for 550 million years!
