The Batman effect and how octopuses spend their free time

Would you give up your seat to a pregnant woman on the train? Would you be more likely to give up your seat to a pregnant woman if Batman was also on the train?

What do octopuses do during their free time? Are they smart, curious, and bored enough to play catch by themselves?

In this episode, Lu and Tirth discuss how the presence of Batman makes people more kind to one another and whether octopuses play with toys.

Beef man origins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc-5StGiCb4

Octopus playing video: https://figshare.com/articles/media/An_adult_i_O_bimaculoides_i_Octopus_H_playing_with_test_tube_cap_/29494452?file=56034531

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:25 Lu has a hater
• 10:39 Batman study
• 21:53 Octopus study
• 31:41 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Pagnini et al., 2025. Unexpected events and prosocial behavior: the Batman effect. npj Mental Health Research. https://www.nature.com/articles/s44184-025-00171-5
• Jarmoulk et al., 2025. Evidence of play behavior in captive California two-spot octopuses, Octopus bimaculoides. PLoS One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0326379

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