This eight-legged table is both cute and a bit unnerving at the same time

Some people see tables as simply functional pieces of furniture. Purchases are made primarily based on utility, as long as they fit the space and the given surroundings. Some people, however, are also particular about how a table looks, whether it matches a room’s motif or better expresses their tastes and interests. Visually interesting tables serve dual purposes, providing a place for objects to lay on while piquing interest and sparking discussion. This table design concept is definitely one of the latter, especially if you’re the type to revel in oddities and peculiar things. If, on the other hand, you’re the kind that freaks out with anything that has more than four legs, this wood and glass center table might be your undoing.

Designer: Carlos Araújo

The majority of tables have four legs for balance, though some have one big block serving as a stable base. Some more unconventional and aesthetic tables seem to tempt fate with an odd number of legs that would seem to be too precarious for comfort. Fortunately, the Octopus Center Table has more than enough legs to keep it from wobbling or tipping over. Unfortunately, it might have too many legs for some people’s tastes.

As the name directly spells out, this design has twice the number of legs as a normal table. It takes the cephalopod as its inspiration, but given the number of legs, it’s bound to also be associated with a spider. This alone could give some people the creeps, so it’s something you should be wary of if you have family and friends with arachnophobia or chapodiphobia. Conversely, it could also be a starting point for discussion about your odd tastes in furniture.

The octopus center table doesn’t just express its affinity to the mollusk through its legs. The transparent glass tabletop also gives a clear view of the main frame that holds the legs together. Its design, with multiple circles of alternating sizes, is also derived from the suction cups on the octopus’ legs. Unfortunately, that could also be another source of discomfort for people that have triggers for certain visuals.

In addition to its rather eccentric appearance, the Octopus Center Table is also a design marvel, combining wood, metal, and glass in all the right places. Unfortunately, it does mean that the table has a more complicated assembly process, like how a metal ring has to properly pass through all the legs. Then again, this structure also helps keep those spindly wooden legs in proper position and alignment, ensuring that your cups and books won’t suddenly come crashing down into the deep.

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Researchers Develop Octopus Sucker Glove for Grasping Objects Underwater

Researchers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech (my alma mater!), led by Assistant Professor Michael Bartlett, have developed the Octa-Glove, a glove with octopus-like suckers on the fingers designed for firmly grasping objects underwater without requiring grip strength. That’s great news because my grip strength has always been lacking.


The glove features soft sucker-like membranes, which, when actuated, attach to objects much like an actual octopus’s tentacles without needing to apply any grip pressure. An array of micro-LIDAR optical proximity sensors detect just how far away an object is, and a microcontroller can activate or releases adhesion almost instantly. When reached for comment, Doctor Octopus says he wishes he’d thought of this.

The researchers envision the gloves being utilized in future underwater search and rescue missions, presumably rescuing mermaids from the evil grasp of Ursula. But will you be able to fight her organic suckers with robotic ones? Only time will tell, but I imagine Ariel is pretty worried about it.

[via TechEBlog]

Plushie Octopus Baby Costume: Move Over, Baby Shark!

Seen here looking about as happy as I’d expect a child wearing a giant octopus costume to be – a baby models the Stuffed Octopus Toy Costume made by Musuos and available at Walmart. It probably goes without saying, but I just had the best idea for this year’s family Christmas card!

The costume measures approximately 47″ from the tip of one tentacle to the end of the opposite one. It is sure to be quite the sight as your baby learns to crawl, and you see an octopus go scurrying across the floor while you’re watching television. Hopefully, it can’t only crawl backward and constantly get stuck under the sofa like I used to.

Get several other plushie sea creature costumes, and you can have your young children reenact The Little Mermaid! Granted, probably not very accurately, considering they’re babies and don’t take stage direction very well, but still, I’ve watched far worse trolling the depths of Netflix.

[via OddityMall]

Octopus-shaped smartphone stand is easily the quirkiest steampunk-ish tabletop accessory I’ve seen

Instead of releasing this Kraken, just keep it occupied by resting your gadgets and stationery on it.

Designed by artisan metallurgist Coppertist.Wu, this handy little bronze cephalopod does everything from propping your phone or tablet up to holding pens and styluses, all while looking like an absolute stunner on your table. Hong Kong-based Coppertist.Wu’s 8-legged creation embodies a cross between realism and functionality (quite like their Chameleon-shaped tape measure). 2 pairs of legs keep the little octopus stable on your tabletop surface, while an extra pair of legs helps prop your smartphone up at a nice readable angle. Thanks to the Octopus’ metal construction, it’s stable enough to hold your phone or tablet in both landscape and portrait modes without tipping over. Finally, the last pair of legs curl at the back, creating a cradle of sorts for holding stationery like pencils, pens, and styluses. “It’s the perfect nautical accent to any room,” says Coppertist.Wu. “It’s not only a great conversation piece but an amazing collectible piece of art as well.”

Designer: Coppertist.Wu

The tiny desktop accessory measures 3.5-inches in length, and 1.9 inches in width and height. Modeled with stunningly realistic details, each of the tentacles come meticulously detailed with suckers on their underside. Meanwhile, the octopus itself has a rough texture on its body, two blowholes on the side of its face, and a pair of eyes that either look menacing or calm, depending really on how you feel about octopuses.

The Octopus Holder weighs 7.4 ounces or 210 grams, and is cast from solid bronze. This gives your aquatic friend a nice metallic sheen that develops a patina over time, giving your little tabletop Kraken an individualistic appeal!

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Tentacled Cocktail Glasses: Sipping Under the Sea

Looking for the perfect cocktail glasses to compliment your ocean-themed home bar? How about these octopus glasses from Cerahome? Each glass holds four ounces of your favorite cocktail (or poison if you’re hosting a murder mystery) and would look great in the hand of Ursula while she steals your voice in exchange for legs.

Available from Amazon for $25 a pair (affiliate link), the glasses have five points of contact on their bases, making them “very stable and not easy to knock down.” Is that a challenge? Because I once accidentally knocked over a full beer keg.

Obviously, these are going to be perfect for the Enchantment Under The Sea dance-themed party I’m going to throw. We’ll dance and sip cocktails from our tentacled glasses and quote Back To The Future all night dressed as our favorite characters from the movies! You know I started writing this as a joke, but the more I think about it, it might actually be the best idea I’ve ever had.

[via DudeIWantThat]

Quirky tactile calculator is inspired by the suction cups on an Octopus’ tentacles!

Isn’t it a weird coincidence that the octopus’s suction cups are actually what give its tentacles incredible grip underwater… and when that same detail is carried forward to the design of a button, it increases the button’s tactile ability? A suction cup helps hold onto things in water, but it also provides the perfect concave surface for your fingertip, resulting in a uniquely enjoyable UX.

The Calctopus (no need trying to decode the name there) was created as a Render Weekly challenge on Instagram. Inspired by the cups on the base of the octopus’ tentacles, the Calctopus uses a similar texture on its keyboard layout. Its curved form, matte finish, and pastel hues make it rather comfortable to look at, and those concave keys are an absolute pleasure to press as your fingertips intuitively find their way around the layout, landing on the right key every time… almost echoing the tactile joy of the Olivetti Divisumma 18 calculator from the early 70s!

Designer: Francesco Brunetti

Octopus + Purse = Octopurse

With their big brains, eight tentacles, and lots of suckers, octopi are pretty amazing animals. But like most things with more than four legs, they can also look quite weird. If you think it would be cool to hang out with an octopus all the time, check out this crazy looking bag.

Designed and crafted by Russia’s KruKru Studio, the octopus purse has eight bendy tentacles embellished with rivets instead of suckers. You can store your wallet, keys, and other small items inside of its bulbous head. Maybe toss a few crustaceans in there since you never know when your pet cephalopod might get hungry. Otherwise, you could end up in a situation like this:

The weird and wild octopurse sells for $245 over on Etsy. It’s made from real leather, and each one is made to order in red, black, orange, blue, or purple. I think a purple octopus purse would look pretty sweet.

This Tentacle Cushion Is Octoplush

Do you ever wish that sometimes an octopus could reach out with its eight arms, and just hug and squeeze you? Well now you can experience that sensation with this plush octopus tentacle cushion.

SK Japan’s soft and neck-hugging pillow wraps around you, offering the warm embrace of a squishy octopus tentacle – minus the sucky bits. It’s perfect for lounging while watching episodes of Spongebob Squarepants or The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. I suggest buying eight of them, and stitching them onto a beanbag chair with googly eyes.

It measures in at 15″ x 14″, and is made from polyester with a felt covering. You can pre-order one now from NCSX, with orders expected to start shipping in March 2020.

Chainmaille Octopus Hood: Eight Arms to Hold You

If Octopi had been on land during medieval times, this is what they would have looked like. That’s a scary thought. King Arthur would have been replaced by King Octo and the Knights of the Drowned Table. Plus, Octo would have needed eight Excaliburs, one for each tentacle. But enough about what could have been. Let’s talk about something that does exist, and that is this chainmaille octopus hood.

This amazing thing is the work of Chicago-based artist, jewelry, and fashion designer Vanessa Walilko. It’s an aluminum chainmail octopus hood for humans to wear on their head. It even has shiny metal tentacles to drape around your body.  Holy Cthulhu Batman! That is one creepy, but awesome piece of chainmaille.


Sadly, you can’t buy it, but you can learn how to make it yourself because Walilko wrote a book that’ll teach you how to make your own chainmaille wearables. It is called Chain Mail + Color. Can someone make me one of these, please?

[via Spoodoir]