I skipped the video, but that blog post was wonderful. And somehow so very you.

Wow, I've had "live" shellfish (lobster tail, giant clam, scallop, etc.) sashimi before, but none of those have suckers.

See, the trick with "live" sashimi is that it's not actually alive, but it's not entirely dead, either. The sushi chef carefully avoids severing the nerves in the flesh, so that it retains muscle tension. It's a completely different mouthfeel from regular sashimi, and is highly prized due to its difficulty.

My guess is that when the nerves in octopus tentacles are left intact, they also maintain some of their reflex action, causing the tentacle to squirm and the suckers to still work. The tentacle wasn't in "attack mode" when the guy in your second link got it in his mouth, the suckers were just reacting to basic nervous stimuli. I imagine if the live lobster tail I had hadn't been sliced into sashimi-style filets, it would have flexed on the plate, too.

One of the comments on the post said the correct way to eat them is to somehow poke or coax them into curling up around themselves, so that they relax, which would seem an easier way.

But I rather like the thought of food in "attack mode"!

Man. I already feel guilty for enjoying octopus sashimi, becuase they're such wonderfully intelligent animals. I don't think I could handle something suctioning onto my teeth.

I want to puke just reading the comments to this post.

Let me tell you about the time a decapitated rat head "bit" me as I was messing with its cranial nerves.

Actually I won't, but damn it gave me a fright. Quite a strong jaw reflex.

It took me perhaps a bit too long to remember that you're a biology person, gaspode, which made your last comment a little overly freaky for a moment there.

Scary rat lady! Eeek! :)

I had that in Korea. But it was a lot more "live" than in the video... those tentacles where inch-worming across the plate, and when I tried to pick one up with metal chopsticks, I couldn't do it; they were sucking on the plate too hard. I had to physically grab it off the plate with my fingers. My Korean hosts were greatly amused.

Frankly, I'm appalled but fascinated, essexjan. I don't think I could ever bring myself to eat such things but just the fact that others could seems worthy of notice.