A female octopus that dwells almost a mile below the sea surface spends about four-and-a-half years brooding her eggs, protecting them vigilantly until they hatch while forgoing any food for herself, scientists said yesterday.

They used a remote-controlled submarine to monitor the deep-sea species, called Graneledone boreopacifica, off the coast of central California, they tracked one mother that clung to a vertical rock face near the floor of a canyon about 1,400 metres under the Pacific Ocean.

She kept her 160 translucent eggs free of debris and silt and chased off predators, never leaving the oblong-shaped eggs – which grew from about the size of a blueberry to the size of a grape – and was never seen eating anything.

The octopus progressively lost weight and its skin became pale and loose in the longest known egg-brooding period for any animal, the researchers wrote in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. (Reuters)

Police pair enact law of the jungle

A pair of off-duty police officers who made an arrest while dressed as a zebra and a monkey have been commended for their bravery.

PCs Tracy Griffin and Terri Cave were on their way to a fancy dress party when they came across a man yelling threatening abuse in a supermarket in Coventry last March.

The pair, dressed in zebra and monkey onesies, wrestled the man to the ground when he left the Co-op store and told staff to ring 999. The man was arrested and taken into custody on suspicion of public order offences, West Midlands Police said.

Brian Eustace, 49, was later charged with public order offences, and was handed a community order and ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work when he appeared before magistrates in Coventry this May. (Reuters)

Unusual way to wet a baby’s head

A baby in Connecticut in the US has arrived with a splash, right into a toilet bowl.

The baby’s father, David Davis, said he was forced to deliver the newborn in the bathroom of his West Haven home after his wife, Lillie, went into labour.

He said the baby slipped through his hands during the delivery, but luckily went into the water. He says she began crying and it was the best sound he’d ever heard. (PA)

Ketchup with the price of history

A water tower that claims to be the world’s largest bottle of ketchup is being put up for sale.

The tower in Collinsville, Illinois, in the US, is a depiction of Brooks Old Original Rich and Tangy Catsup, which was once produced in the buildings beneath the tower.

Now, the sign is for sale. Owner Larry Eckert is asking for $500,000 US for the 65-year-old, 170-foot-tall landmark and adjacent warehouse.

The 100,000-gallon tower never held ketchup and has not been used since Brooks moved out in the 1960s. (PA)

Brit workers’ Facebook rebellion

UK workers are the most likely in Europe to break office rules and use Facebook during the day, according to new research.

A survey by technology giant Samsung, which asked more than 4,000 workers about their office social media use, found that more than 40 per cent said they were banned from using social sites like Facebook and Twitter at work, but the same number said they ignored the ban and happily posted status updates from their desk.

Dimitrios Tsivrikos, consumer and business psychologist at University College London, said: “The days when employees would simply follow the rules without questioning them are truly behind us.

“Trust, clear communication and meaningful frameworks are far more effective at facilitating constructive behaviour – both at work and at play.” (PA)

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