Scientists Guy Levy and Nir Nesher of Hebrew University in Jerusalem set about getting to the bottom of an age old question: Why don’t octopus arms get tangled? Turns out the question had never been posed before and the answer was less complicated than expected.

With eight arms to contend with, octopus do not have a constant awareness of each arms’ location. By the use of a special chemical within the skin, each sucker knows not to grab hold, thus preventing tangling.

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