Greetings from the mid-west

[TheOctopus]

I've been checking out tonmo.com for years and today I paid my first visit in a while and discovered the forum. I had to sign up. What a great web-site; and it just keeps getting better and better, and increasingly more informative.

My cephalopod interests came by way of the little critter pictured in my avatar -- a handpuppet octopus that my brother gave me almost a decade ago. Over the years, The Octopus has been around the world, and some of his adventures are detailed in all their glory at The Octopus, a fine webpage maintained by a good friend of The Octopus.

Since getting The Octopus as a gift, my wife and I have acquired more than two dozen unique stuffed octopuses (3 of which are handpuppets). Who would have known there was such a market? God bless capitalism. Once we had two or three, they really started pouring in as friends and family added to our collection.

By way of this odd hobby, we've had the chance to learn a bit about our invertibrate friends. There's so much information out there, even information that's accessible to lay people like us.... What fascinating creatures!

Paul (Member, The Octopus Support Team)

 

[WhiteKiboko]

Welcome! i've been a fan of your site for some time..... my favorite picture has to be the one concerning cephalopodal mechanics...

the comma got included in the link... heres a clean link for everyone (it can also be found in the web directory)

The Octopus

after browsing your site again, i think i might have to come up with a few sequels to the Legend of the Silly Octopi: The Legend of the Silly Octopi

 

[Nancy]

Hi Paul,

Well, I've been a fan of The Octopus and his adventures ever since the link was posted on TONMO.com, a long time ago.

In fact, I liked The Octopus so much that I have one of my own, sitting here by my laptop (named him Bill The Octopus). That, and many other things, led to my having a real live octopus, Ollie.

So welcome to the site!

Nancy

 

[cthulhu77]

Welcome to Tonmo! Great website with the octos...you just have to love plush octopii!!!
Greg

 

[TheOctopus]

Wow -- great to know The Octopus has a fan club! We'll have to get on with an update soon -- it's been a while since we've added new matieral, but for His fans, anything!

Very cool Silly Octopus page. I see they're fans of Pottstown's finest brew -- very discerning plush cephalopods you have there.

And Ollie is totally cool -- I found some of the pics in the photos forum. Maybe someday we'll work our way up from stuffed (or sushi) octopuses to a real one.

 

[tonmo]

Paul, great to have you back! Glad to see that you and The Octopus are doing well. 8)

 

[Tentacular!]

Octo toys

Since getting The Octopus as a gift, my wife and I have acquired more than two dozen unique stuffed octopuses

I collect octopus plush too! Something about the conceptual juxtaposition of smooth slimy ceph skin with furry plush is irresistable.

My prize possession is a plush Vampyroteuthis (!), speckled brown with bright blue eyes, head fins and webbed tentacles. I got it as a b'day pressent, no idea where from.

 

[TheOctopus]

Re: Octo toys

My prize possession is a plush Vampyroteuthis (!), speckled brown with bright blue eyes, head fins and webbed tentacles. I got it as a b'day pressent, no idea where from.

No kidding, we've got that one, too. I think it came from FAO Schwarz in Washington, DC. It was a pricey sucker, actually!

Who would have thought there were multiple people in the universe acquiring plush octopuses? Of course, I'd never have thought that there were so many unique plush octopuses out there, either.

A must-visit store to add to your travel itinerary is Octopus Garden on the pier in Santa Cruz, CA. It's huge and it's stuffed full of all things octopus. Crazy.

 

[Tentacular!]

No kidding, we've got that one, too. I think it came from FAO Schwarz in Washington, DC. It was a pricey sucker, actually!

I remember now. A friend brought mine back from Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Cool. Plush ceph siblings in Ohio and Sydney.

Of course, I'd never have thought that there were so many unique plush octopuses out there, either.

They're not that easy to find, at least out here they aren't. But that's the challenge.

 

[WhiteKiboko]

actually if you look in the web dierctory, nancy's plush toys has several octos and squid (including a vampire)....unfortunately it looks like they changed the kind of giatn squid they carry...( i think the previous incarnation looked better)

 

[Tentacular!]

actually if you look in the web dierctory, nancy's plush toys has several octos and squid

But that's cheating. Its more exhilarating to capture them in the wild, in their natural toystore/giftshop habitat.

 

[WhiteKiboko]

true, but you also pay an arm and a leg more if its at an aqaurium or museum....

 

[TheOctopus]

true, but you also pay an arm and a leg more if its at an aqaurium or museum....

Sometimes the little guys turn up in the oddest places. Finding stuffed octopuses in science museum and acquarium gift shops is like shooting fish in a barrel, of course. Not very sporting. But a few years ago the Tampa/St. Pete airport had a gift shop that was positively stuffed to the gills with assorted unique plush octopuses. What a successful trip! And then there was this Hallmark store in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that was a veritable octopus gold mine until it closed.

More than half our collection has come from friends and family, thouogh -- there's always a new addition or two at Christmas time. And we have a fine assortment of plush squids, jellyfish, lobsters, and crabs, which I refer to as "food" for the octopuses. Now we just need a couple of sharks or eels to keep the octopus population in check....

 

[Tentacular!]

Now we just need a couple of sharks or eels to keep the octopus population in check....

Plush sperm whale perhaps? Plus plush rocks, plush seaweed, plush helpless drowning sailors...

Do you have a plush Cthulhu btw?

 

[TheOctopus]

Do you have a plush Cthulhu btw?

No! I haven't seen one yet, but I've been told repeatedly about the little devil. On my "must acquire" list....