An octopus has roughly 500 million neurons, and more than... | funfact.wiki | funfact.wiki
An octopus has roughly 500 million neurons, and more than two-thirds of them are distributed across its eight arms rather than its central brain. The brain issues high-level commands while each arm independently handles the details—a decentralized nervous system.
Purple does not exist in the light spectrum. When red and blue light simultaneously stimulate the eye, the brain creates this color to resolve the contradictory signals.
You can't tickle yourself because your brain predicts outcomes of your own actions and ignores matching sensations. However, schizophrenia patients — whose prediction systems are impaired — can indeed tickle themselves.
The brain of a cephalopod is shaped like a donut, with the esophagus running straight through the center. Even in a 300 kg colossal squid, the esophagus is only about 10 mm in diameter—so swallowing too large a piece of food can compress the brain and cause damage.
In 2009, a veined octopus was observed carrying coconut shells and using them as shelter—the first documented tool use by an invertebrate. Octopuses can also solve puzzles, open jars, escape aquariums, and learn by watching other octopuses.