Radio Free Skaro #417 – Arcturan Mega-Donkey

Hi Radio Free Skaro! I really enjoy listening to your podcasts every week, and in #417 Warren (I think–apologies if not) made a comment that I think requires a slight correction.

He said something like “Eating octopus never hurt anyone.”–but this is actually incorrect! I lived in Korea for many years and people there sometimes eat a dish called sannakji, which is a small octopus served raw. The octopus is pulled from a tank while it’s still alive and hacked up with a knife and served to your table. This means that the octopus is dead, but the nerves are still firing so little pieces of octopus will move on your plate and wrap themselves around your chopsticks. Now, here’s where the danger comes in: sometimes the octopus suckers catch on people’s throats and cause the to choke and possibly die. If you watch Korean media, every once in a while you’ll see a report that someone died because he didn’t chew up his octopus enough. That’s the advice always given when discussing sannakji: Chew your octopus up carefully.

So there you have it: You certainly can be hurt by eating octopus!

P.S.: Just in case you’re wondering, the taste is pretty bland.