An Octopus Has Three Hearts and Blue Blood

From Sy Montgomery's book, The Soul of an Octopus (2015)

Mmerikani’s Substack consists of sourced, edifying quotes in a dual-language format (Swahili & English). I am a Quaker, runner, and was formally trained in Swahili.

KISWAHILI

"Pweza ameumbwa kwa namna tofauti kabisa [kuliko nasi], akiwa na mioyo mitatu, ubongo unaozunguka koo lake, na amefunikwa na lami badala ya nywele. Hata damu yao ni ya rangi tofauti na yetu; ni ya bluu, kwa sababu shaba, si chuma, hubeba oksijeni yake."

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"Misuli ya pweza ina nyuzi za miali na za longitudo, na hivyo zinafanana na ndimi zetu zaidi kuliko ya biceps zetu, lakini zina nguvu za kutosha kugeuza mikono yao kuwa fimbo ngumu sana—au kujifupisha hayo kwa urefu wa asilimia 50 hadi 70. Misuli ya mkono wa pweza, kwa hesabu ya mmoja, ina uwezo wa kukataa uvutano wa uzito wa pweza mwenyewe mara mia moja.”

- Sy Montgomery ni mwandishi, mtafiti wa mambo ya asili, na mgunduzi. Yeye anayeandika juu ya mwingiliano kati ya wanyama na binadamu.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

“[An] octopus is put together completely differently [than us], with three hearts, a brain that wraps around its throat, and a covering of slime instead of hair. Even their blood is different color from ours; it’s blue, because copper, not iron, carries its oxygen.”

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“An octopus’s muscles have both radial and longitudinal fibers, thereby resembling our tongues more than our biceps, but they’re strong enough to turn their arms to rigid rods—or shorten them in length by 50 to 70 percent. An octopus’s arm muscles, by one calculation, are capable of resisting a pull one hundred times the octopus’s own weight. “

- Sy Montgomery is an author, naturalist researcher, explorer, and documentarian of human-creature interactions.

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Chanzo (source): Montgomery, Sy. The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness. New York: Atria Paperback, 2015, pages 13, 40.