Octopus VS Unsolvable Puzzle - Behavior Observation Experiment

Octolab TV
Octolab TV
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Published 2020-11-15
We've all watched in awe as these intelligent invertebrates solved puzzle after puzzle. We're always surprised at how effortlessly they solve almost every challenge we put in from of them. But what if we set up a challenge that is impossible to solve? How will our octopus react to an unsolvable puzzle?

We took some crabs and sealed them in a plexiglass box. We made sure that Michael, our big powerful octopus, would not be able to open the plexiglass container no matter how much force he applied.

We ran this observational experiment for nearly an hour before we gave him his treat. The final 15 minutes were entirely uneventful. Our octopus ignored the box with the crabs after having failed to open it during the first 45 minutes. We wondered if he would also ignore the second box that contained his treat due to the fact that he was unable to open the box with the crabs. He didn't.
All Comments (21)
  • @uoabigaillevey
    LOL that rush/sneak attack at 1:15.. followed by the frustrated color shift at 2:05 Such personality on display here.
  • @ThindiGee
    I was expecting him to bang the box against the walls of the aquarium in anger.
  • @treborironwolfe978
    This is friggin hilarious!! Since he/she couldn't figure out how to open it immediately, he/she instead measured their front door and then measured the box, hoping to hide the box for further examination.
  • @koriw1701
    It's incredible to see that the octo has only made bite marks around the lid where the box was obviously sealed, rather than the solid sides that came with the box from the factory! Unsettling and sublime place for him to focus his efforts...
  • @ct.widget2847
    Those crabs must have felt like a scuba diver in a shark cage under attack from a Megalodon! Traumatized!
  • @DaffneyDalilah
    This is one of those times where it would come in handy to be friends with the octopus that imitated a hammer.
  • @foxfaith24
    Pretty much me with a pickle jar. Keep trying buddy.
  • @karenahmed4722
    Another terrific octovideo starring Michael. I like when he took a mad rush at that box as if to say, "I'm going to do it this time!"
  • @NewMessage
    Me trying to get into an old CD wrapper.
  • @100amps
    It’s interesting that their eyes never move in their sockets. They don’t look at things per se, they just stare at ..something..
  • @JamesMichael333
    I don’t like that its unsolvable for him to be honest. All puzzles should have a solution even if it’s incredibly difficult. But at least you gave him a shrimp at the end. 👍
  • @debdrake6786
    Octopus says, "Hey, where's that hammer you gave me a couple episodes ago?" Actually, that might be an interesting test - a sealed container and some sort of tool he needs to open it - and see if he can figure it out.
  • @JDragon272
    That Octopus was like... can't get that one opened, and moves away like; "I'm gonna Order some Take-Out".
  • @Shaden0040
    How many octopi do you havein total, and when you showcase one for an experiment can you tell us their names on screen, please? Thanks.
  • @lFathomEmotion
    I want to know wether the octopus understand bouyancy and gravity and have an idea for an experiment: Take a transparent cylinder, with a hole in the side of it. at the bottom of the cylinder there is floating balls that fit through the hole, on top of them there is a sinking plate, as wide as the inside diametre of the cylinder. On top of the plate is a treat. The octopus mus take the balls out to make the plate sink in order to get to the treat. another idea is to design an expreiment to see if th octopus can balance a scale with weights and/or floats.
  • @sandwitch4300
    Crabs must be like: thank goodness the box doesn't open! 🥺
  • @zenlizard1850
    No tease octopus! Octopus want treat! And man, were those crabs freaking out, too.