Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/12/31/zombie-dancing-squid.html
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Connect the fish to Alexa?
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You can’t tell me Billy Bigmouth Bass isn’t alive!
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Keep doubting.
Ah, immortality…
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Can anyone provide a technical explanation of how it works?
Can’t find a full text link, so this will have to do.
Happy New Year everybody! Be careful what you put in your mouth!
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I don’t eat this stuff, but maybe so long as other people see the thing “dancing” it’s a thing?:
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I’m guessing the salt in the soy sauce sets up an action potential across the nerve axons, triggering movement. The sushi would have to be very fresh for this to work.
(And…I’m sorry, but this is gross)
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I’ll say. There’s nothing worse than half-dead racht.
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Billy Big Mouth Bass Alexa is a Product:
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I think it works because the animal isn’t (quite) dead yet. There are a number of Japanese and Korean dishes, for example, in which one eats live seafood.
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In the case of the squid at least there could be some neurons still firing in those arms since squid, like octopi, have distributed intelligence that allows their limbs to function semi-autonomously even in the absence of a functioning brain. The line between “dead” and “not dead” is a little fuzzier.
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I really want a cephalopod biologist to chime in, because I think the term “dead” is both correct and incorrect, moreso in the case of cephalopods in this particular case.
Cephalopods don’t have their main brain in the top of their bodies. The arms also have a level of autonomy that we don’t exactly understand. Cephalopods are also good hunters in a wide range of O₂. It’s possible it is still somewhat alive and awair, just slowly dying. Cephalopod neurons are not myelinated and it is possible that we are looking at action potentials created by ions, but it is also possible we are seeing the last reacontonary death throws and possibly pain, and while oblivion is just moments away, it’s just possible that this is cruel.
I recommend Other Minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith. The subtitle is " The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness". It starts off terribly, but goes on to clarify the broad sweeping statements fairly quickly. It’s a good listen via Audible- no referral id.
Like whale meat, I just won’t partake in it. It doesn’t mean that it isn’t proper for another culture to partake in it, it just isn’t right for me.
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I got my dad one of these and an echo dot for Xmas.
The setup process is a bit janky. But can confirm its awesomeness once working.
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They say it’s dead with such sureness; but how do they know it’s dead? Has anyone done a brain scan on them before they ate it? Even then what is the line between alive and dead? We can’t even tell for sure when humans are brain dead.
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Yeah, I know the majority of an octopus neurons are in the arms, so cutting off the head is even less effective than cutting off a chicken’s head. (And see: Mike the Headless Chicken) But what they’ve cut off is actually the body - the “head” of a squid or octopus is at the base of the tentacles. The brain of the squid is just above the eyes, which is still there. So really, in all these cases, they’ve actually just eviscerated and sliced up the critters while leaving the nervous system intact.
They aren’t dead, just dying.
I think this is really just a case of Western squeamishness in which pretending it’s dead is more desirable than admitting it’s about eating living creatures.
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