Video: Octopus wrestling: a brutal sport that was at its peak 50 years ago
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
It's amazing how much fun has been invented by man throughout history to distract himself from boredom. These are duels, hunting for wild animals, and even drugs. One of the most absurd activities was fighting the octopus, popular in the United States in the middle of the last century. A dangerous, strange, and absolutely inhumane game that simply cannot be imagined in the context of today, then wrestling with an octopus was considered a sign of courage and dexterity, not available to everyone.
The first written evidence of this strange sport dates back to 1949. Mechanic Illustrated magazine published an article entitled "My Hobby is Wrestling with an Octopus," written by Wilmont Menard. Vilmont described his trip to Tahiti, where he joined the locals on their hunt and fought an octopus under the guidance of a local hunter.
The article made a lot of noise, such a strange pastime seemed quite funny to people, and by the 1960s, this sport reached its peak in popularity. He was especially fond of on the west coast of the United States. There even were organized no less, and the World Competition for the fight against octopuses.
The event attracted around 5,000 viewers who came to watch the competition with their own eyes, and many more watched the wrestling on TV as a large number of broadcasters bought broadcast rights. Prizes were awarded to both single wrestlers and entire teams. Their task was to capture and immobilize the octopus. What happened to the animal afterwards? Some were released, others were given to aquariums, but often they were simply eaten.
The largest octopus wrestling competition took place in April 1963 in Tacoma. Then the event was attended by 111 divers who fought with 25 huge Pacific octopuses, which were caught on the same day. Some animals weighed up to 25 kg.
The sports team of divers descended to a depth of about 18 meters under the water, where the octopus lurked. The team usually consisted of only 2-3 divers who tried to grab the animal, prevent themselves from being strangled by tentacles, and raise it to the surface of the water. Such a struggle took a lot of time, which dragged on especially strongly, given that the whole action took place deep under water. But in the end, the team that managed to raise the largest octopus to the surface won.
The last competition was held in Washington state on the eve of the adoption of the law prohibiting the abuse of octopuses. However, even today you can certainly find those brave souls who then risked their health and even their lives to defeat the sea "monster," and who remember how it was.
Even more shocking entertainment was human zoos, which were arranged for the amusement of European residents in the middle of the nineteenth century.
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