Octopuses are often referred to as being akin to space aliens. With three hearts, nine brains, and blue blood, they are so different from us that they could be from another planet. They are also highly intelligent. While other intelligent creatures, from humans to orca whales, tend to be long-lived and to live in communities of others of their kind, the octopus has a relatively short life span and is not particularly social. They are indeed mysterious and otherworldly.
This is an overly long introduction to a fascinating new documentary, My Octopus Teacher, on Netflix about a filmmaker and free diver, who developed a relationship with an octopus living in a kelp forest off Cape Town, South Africa. Craig Foster spent a year following and developing a bond with the octopus, observing the octopus for most of its life. The remarkable thing is that once the octopus determines that the man with a mask and snorkel is not a threat, the octopus becomes almost as curious about Foster as Foster is about the cephalopod.
The cruise ship industry effectively shut down in the middle of last March due to outbreaks of the coronavirus on several ships. The Center for Disease Control (C.D.C.) has issued a series of “
The second of two wonderful books recently released by 
Here are two short videos that provide a glimpse at the revolution in cargo shipping in the UK (and the world) over the last half-century. The first video, “
The steam collier SS Ayrfield was 61 years old. Formally called the Corrimal, the 1,140-tonne ship, ran coal between Newcastle and Sydney before serving as a transport ship for Australia during World War II. After the war, she operated again as a collier between Newcastle and Miller’s terminal in Blackwattle Bay. By 1972, she had reached the end of her useful life and was sent to a scrapyard in Homebush Bay, near Sydney, Australia, to be broken up.
Genetic analysis of modern descendants shows that sailors from the Pacific Islands arrived in the Americas long before Europeans arrived. The question is how long?
Some sailors along Spain’s Galician coast must be saying “we’re gonna need a bigger boat.” There have been reports of up to 30 attacks by orcas directed at sailboats on the northwestern coast of Spain and Portugal.
The Danish Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the Russian Navy corvette, Kazanets, collided with the refrigerated cargo vessel, 
Here is the story of a very lucky kayaker saved by unexpected rescuers on 
This seems like a suitable post for a Sunday in 2020.