Red Wings Fans’ Weird Octopus Tradition Explained – TEAMBOT (2024)

FAQs

Why do Red Wings fans throw octopus? ›

Having eight arms, the octopus symbolized the number of playoff wins necessary for the Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup. The practice started April 15, 1952, when Pete and Jerry Cusimano, brothers and storeowners in Detroit's Eastern Market, hurled an octopus into the rink of Olympia Stadium.

The triumphant streak of the Red Wings in the 90's, with three Conference titles and two Stanley Cups brought back the octopus toss, but protests from animal rights groups, such as PETA, caused the tradition to be banned and some pitchers were arrested.

Why do they throw squid on the ice during a hockey game? It is actually an octopus. Throwing an octopus on the ice was a tradition in Detroit, done by Red Wings fans. The octopus, with its eight legs, signified, at one time, the eight playoff wins necessary for a team to win the Stanley Cup.

S cientists have revealed that a seal slapped a kayaker in the face with an octopus because it was trying to bring the mollusc to the surface to "smash it to pieces". Video footage of a New Zealand kayaker being viciously slapped round the face with an octopus by a seal has been watched millions of times online.

Al the Octopus is the mascot of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. During many games, octopuses are thrown onto the ice by fans for good luck, this usually occurring after the national anthem is sung or after a goal is scored.

The secret to throwing a large octopus onto an ice hockey rink is to boil it first for 20 minutes on high heat with a little lemon juice and white wine to mask the odor.

New research has revealed that octopuses often throw punches when they're hunting alongside other fish.

Red Wings fans have thrown an octopus on the ice since 1952, going from a tradition signifying the number of wins the team needed to capture the Stanley Cup to sight you see at nearly every Detroit game – at the Joe and on the road. But the final game at Joe Louis Arena wasn't just another game.

The first octopus throw has been traced back to 1952 when a fish market owner celebrated the Red Wing's first victory in the Stanley Cup Final by throwing one onto the playing surface. The Wild won the game 4-2 and are now 23-21-6 heading into the All Star Game break.

Blanket octopuses spend their whole lives (3-5 years) floating in the open ocean, and, when threatened, swoop down into deeper waters with their capes flowing behind them. The blankets can be folded under the octopus' arms to make for a faster getaway, if needed.

Why is the octopus Steampunk? ›

5) In the 19th century, the octopus was a symbol of the railroad and the Industrial Revolution, which are central to the steampunk culture. Railroad companies, with their sprawling networks similar to tentacles, were seen as monsters attempting to take over the farmers' lands.

Cephalopod ink is a dark-coloured or luminous ink released into water by most species of cephalopod, usually as an escape mechanism. All cephalopods, with the exception of the Nautilidae and the Cirrina (deep-sea octopuses), are able to release ink to confuse predators.

After mating, its appears the optic gland really does secrete more sex hormones, insulin-like hormones, and precursors of cholesterol. All three of these molecules could ultimately contribute to signaling systems that trigger death.

If you cut off an octopus's arm, the severed limb will still move about for at least an hour. That's because each arm has its own control system—a network of around 400,000 neurons that can guide its movements without any command from the creature's brain.

An octopus is a stat and/or occurrence during an NFL game when a player scores a touchdown and the ensuing two-point conversion. According to the Action Network, there have been just 169 octopi in NFL history since the two-point conversion was introduced in 1994.

There are eight points involved in this stat. That's why it's called the octopus. Invented by Sports Illustrated's Mitch Goldich last year, an octopus occurs when a player scores a touchdown and also converts a two-point conversion on the same drive, resulting in eight points. Or, rather, an octopus.

Eight points scored … an octopus … you get it. Goldich added the disclaimer that he is counting only the person "who is actually credited with the points scored"; i.e., a quarterback only registers an "octopus" if he scores a rushing touchdown followed by a two-point conversion on the ground.

The tradition dates back to over 60 years ago when the teams needed to win a total of eight games over two series to win the Stanley Cup. The eight legs on the octopus symbolize the eight wins needed to become league champs.

Octopuses pull water into their mantle cavities and then squeeze it out through the siphon (also called a funnel) at the front of their mantles to both swim and steer.

One child is chosen to be the octopus. The others line up along one side of the area. When the Octopus yells out “Octopus” the children all run to the other side of the area- trying not to get caught. Those that are caught become one of the Octopus's arms.

Do squids feel pain when eaten alive? ›

A science-based report from the University of British Columbia to the Canadian Federal Government has been quoted as stating "The cephalopods, including octopus and squid, have a remarkably well developed nervous system and may well be capable of experiencing pain and suffering."

Sometimes they turn their considerable minds to human beings, forming opinions of who they do and don't like. It is unwise to get on the wrong side of an octopus: those grudges can last a surprisingly long time.

The octopi's salivary glands produce the venom, and the bacteria gets dispersed through their beak. TTX can paralyze a human in minutes. Due to this paralysis, your body wouldn't be able to get enough oxygen, and death from a blue-ringed octopus would occur.

So fans took inspiration from the Red Wings' use of octopi, and began chucking catfish onto the ice at Bridgestone Arena. The tradition dates back to 2002 as locals have visited their favorite seafood stores to acquire the ray-finned fish with whisker-like barbels.

According to a lawsuit filed by his attorney, Debra Gordon, Sobotka was fired by the Red Wings after 51 years because he urinated in a drain due to a health condition, benign prostatic hypertrophy.

Umbrella octopuses are a group of deep-sea octopuses, which includes the Dumbo octopus and the flapjack octopus. They live in the deepest parts of the ocean where no sunlight can reach. They have features that help them live at these depths. These octopuses have earlike fins that they flap in order to move.

Dumbo octopuses move by slowly flapping their ear-like fins, and they use their arms to steer. They are foraging predators and eat pelagic invertebrates that swim above the sea floor.

According to In the New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, what makes blanket octopuses so rare is their extreme “sexual size dimorphism”. While the female blanket octopus can grow up to six feet, the male-only octopus grows up to 2.4 centimetres. Besides, females weigh 40,000 times more than males.

Since the 19th century, the motif of an octopus on propaganda maps has represented the inhuman spread of evil, its tentacles grasping for land and power.

Many people find Steampunk problematic for a whole host of reasons, not least of which is the glorification of an era of Western history that featured institutionalized slavery, racism, sexism, elitism, and many more -isms.

What is the octopus culture? ›

Octopus aquaculture describes the captive-raising of octopuses and commercial sale of their meat. A complex and labor-intensive form of farming, octopus aquaculture is being driven by strong market demand in the Mediterranean and in South American and Asian countries.

Since the 19th century, the motif of an octopus on propaganda maps has represented the inhuman spread of evil, its tentacles grasping for land and power.

Not only did the Red Wings win the game that day but they finished the playoffs undefeated and won two of their next three Stanley Cups. The Octopus became the Red Wings' unofficial mascot and has been thrown onto the ice every season since; typically during the national anthem or following a goal.