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#95950 02/26/03 10:29 AM
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Carpal Tunnel
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Nope. Now they don't have to take the octopus to a kennel when they go on vacation


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connie,

There are a couple news stories out there -- here's BBC's take:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2796607.stm

Maybe our Jazzoctopus can shed further light.



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Do they travel in time and relative dimensions in space?

Jelly Baby®?



formerly known as etaoin...
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W
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Terrific little story there, Asp.

"We just did it in the tank a few times and eventually she
cottoned on," he said.


From where does this 'cotton' come?


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wwh Offline
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Dear WW: I suspect the metaphor "to cotton on" originated in Virginia.

E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.

Now have you caught on?


Cotton.

To cotton to a person. To cling to one or take a fancy to a person. To stick to a person as cotton
sticks to our clothes.


#95955 02/26/03 04:09 PM
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I like your 'caught on' = 'cotton' better than the cotton clinging explanation, wwh. I've been in a cotton field and I'd say cotton's pretty hard to remove rather than the opposite.

But this "caught on" for "cotton" is cute! But I'll take the explanation you provided as fact. Oh, well--a cool fancy down the brain....


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Going on diet I'd say that the Koala is pretty brainless. Eucalyptus doesn't exactly stimulate the nervous system and the slow-moving, dopiness can only be attributed to this diet.

Yes, they can get vicious but that doesn't necessarily imply any higher plane intelligence.

Speaking of octopods my photography lecture last night was about Natural History and there was one interesting fact which came up. All living creatures on earth are carbon-based except for octopods which are copper based. This explains their ability to change colour so quickly. What I'd like to know is how the hell they managed to evolve!


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Here's another explanation for cotton on:

http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/bulletin_board/14/messages/195.html

And, Rubrick, I'd like to know what the hell you heard that caused you to make this observation! There's no way copper is going to fill in for carbon in meaningful way in biochemical structures. Carbon is IV A and copper is VIII.


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'd like to know what the hell you heard that caused you to make this observation! There's no way copper is going to fill in for carbon in meaningful way in biochemical structures. Carbon is IV A and copper is VIII.

Don't shoot the messenger! I doubted it but I thought maybe someone else here could shed some light. I take it that it's not possible but I'd like to hear arguments to the contrary. Are Cephalopods carbon-based or copper-based?


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wwh Offline
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Silence in the court! I too was dumbfounded by the "copper based" allegation. I found a site
that sets it straight. It's just their blood that is copper based. I used to know that, but had
forgottten it.
http://www.vfs.com/~jhumphre/portfolio/video.htm


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