Squid

Guest Reviewer: Matthew

Surely one of the most impressive creatures on the planet is the squid.

A good day's catch - one giant squid, and one man
wearing a bright orange boiler suit.

I give you 5 reasons why:

1. They are more intelligent than dogs and can actually cross roads

2. They have beaks like birds and grindy teeth

3. They can change into all sorts of colours – like mini ipods

4. They taste good on holiday in Spain, and

5. They are killers. Humboldt squid eat fishermen off the Mexican coast

Mexican fishermen, within
inking distance of being eaten.

Just had a straw poll round my office and we felt that squids deserve 9.2/10, however, caution is advised as we are a pretty pro-squid lot here.

The squid just misses getting 10/10 due to:

- Their lack of friendliness

- Those blank eyes, no twinkle

- Their inability to defeat their mortal enemies, the sperm whale

If viewers of the website can better this I’ll be amazed.

Overall Squid Score: 9.2/10

Animal Reviews Independent Moderation Panel:

A concise and accurate review there, Matthew. Good job.

Although we completely understand the calamari-mania that has taken over your office, we must admit to being alarmed to see the squid given a higher score than the otter - who beats the squid hands down when it comes to frolicking and opening sea urchins. We would also argue that otters are better at crossing roads. That said, not many otters kill people.

Animal Reviews Post Moderation Squid Score: 7.8/10

A fair knockdown in score there from the panel. We basically feel that the although excellent, the squid can't quite match the octopus on any one of the 5 points you mention.

Please try to calm your colleagues as appropriate.

While I agree that the squid doesn't deserve 9.2/10, I think it still needs to be noted that squid are now the dominant species on Earth, thanks to global warming:

http://www.users.bigpond.com/Bildstein/calamari.htm

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/17312/story.htm

Bow down to your cephalopod masters.

Tom

I believe that the ‘squid’ photo clipped to the corner of the squid page is actually a cuttlefish.

Cuttlefish are quite bright - more so than squid (so I’ve read).

Sláinte,

Joli

- Brighter than me and Max by the looks of it. Well spotted Joli.