Kiwi shared a charming, delightful book with me, one that should have you laughing out loud ... as well as being impressed by how smart an octopus is! Secrets of the Octopus, by Sy Montgomery is that book, and what a fun read it was. I learned, too, that the plural really is octopuses, not octopi! The 'i' ending indicates a Latin word, and octopus is Greek. :-) Octopuses are escape artists, and can get through an opening about the size of a quarter! And, in at least one escape, said octopus would escape from her tank, cross the lab to the tank with the food, eat some, but not all of it, and return to her tank before humans showed up in the morning. It took several days to figure this out, and that was only because one human showed up early for work and caught her in the act. They can learn by watching ... seeing humans unscrew a jar, for example, then they would demonstrate that they do could open a jar ... it's a fascinating read!

Here's a book that I found an interesting blend of the 'dry' (figuring out a definition for the word 'play') and amusing: Kingdom of Play: What Ball-Bouncing Octopuses, Belly-Flopping Monkeys, and Mud-Sliding Elephants Reveal About Life Itself, by David Toomey. It took a while before humans realized animals do play. (Sadly, it took time for us to even realize they think). This is explained, as is the process for defining 'play', that's the dry part, but, along with that are delightful and amusing examples of animals, fish, and insects having a good time for no specific reason. There's a bird who liked tossing rocks off a cliff, fish who jumped into human hands so as to be gently tossed back into the water (in an aquarium setting), elephants sliding down muddy hills, and of course, dogs at play. :-)

Reading Hermit With Dog