Why a Cephalopoda?
The origins of our adorable mascot come from a deep respect for this beautiful ocean creature. We owe a lot to our Cephalopoda friends, due to their large neurons we have been able to see under microscopes something that was previously hidden. This provided scientist with a testing environment for the impact of pharmaceutical drugs on neurons.
While I personally don’t condone animal testing, I want to honour these animals for the invaluable information they have provided us.
But that’s not all!
Did you know that octopi are one of the most playful species in the animal kingdom? They change colours and dance to communicate with each other. They are one of the few species to be regularly observed playing with other species. They are keen tool users and love a good puzzle! If this isn’t enough to win you over, think about how closely it mimics our very own coping strategies. Their colour changes and dancing is not dissimilar to how we change our behaviour, clothing and attitudes with our environment and company. We also like playing with other species, we are keen tool users and we all engage with puzzles. Whether it is puzzling over how to manage our day or more literal puzzles.
The Affirming Journeys mascot also has rainbow suckers to represent the LGBTQI+ community and infinity symbol for neurodiversity.
I leave you with some truly terrible octopi jokes, enjoy
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Knock, knock! Who’s there? Inky! Inky who? Inky-credible octopus jokes!
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What do you call a smart octopus? Ink-telligent!
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What did the octopus say to its crush at the bar? “You octopi my thoughts!”
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What did the octopus say when it bumped into a shark? “Sorry, my social skills are a little squidy!”