Mar
25Oceans 4Ever Contest Number Two (and an update on number one)
Filed Under (Contests and Prizes) by Alexa & Cindy on 25-03-2009
Tagged Under : contests, prizes
We’ve been waiting and we just can’t wait anymore!
O4E is officially addicted to contests, so, without further hesitation, here’s our second contest, and the reason why we’ve waited until now to announce the first contest’s winners (below).
Contest-amundo number two is another easy one to enter, but it’s going to be a short one!
Between now and midnight, Monday, 3/30, all you have to do to earn an entry is leave a comment on this post on what your favorite ocean animal is and why. yes, we already know this very well for some of you! You can enter multiple times and detail second- and third, etc. favorite creatures, too. That’s it!
What do you win for your efforts, you ask? Your own copy of OCEANOPOLY, of course!
This game was given to Alexa by her dear aunt, uncle and cousins for her birthday last year. Once we cleared the dining room table for our first take-no-prisoners quest to acquire land and oceans via hopping our cast-metal sea creatures around the board, we were hooked. Just make sure you have a good banker! 
(This game is recommended for ages 8 and up.)
Here are the official contest rules:
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*Enter your favorite sea creature in a comment on this post for an entry
*Enter as many times as you like
*Entries close at midnight, Monday, 3/30
*Winner will be chosen and notified by email on 3/31
*Note: winner must respond to prize notification email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen
And now for an update on launch week contest: first, THANK YOU for making our first contest such a huge success!
We had a lot of entries, and winner number one is…Tim. Thanks for entering, Tim!
Winner number two – where are you? We’re still waiting to hear from winner number two, so if you are reading this, give us a shout – and we’ll keep in on the low. (hint, hint)
Also, if we do not hear from winner number two by the end of this week, guess what? We’ll draw again on Saturday evening, 3/28, before Earth Hour and let you know of the alternate winner after we turn the power back on (more on that coming up).
Ready, set, GO! Tell us your fave sea creature and why, then tell us in a comment on this post.
Good luck!
Hmm… that’s a tough one… I’m going to go with “sharks”. There are many reasons, but I think the main reason is that every time I see one I still get the same thrill I did when I was around Alexa’s age. It never gets old, and because of that, I am one of the lucky few who really love what they do for a living.
Also, whoever you are, curse you, “Tim”. Oceanopoly shall be mine! Muahaha.
It’s hard to pick! But I think I’m going to say “mantis shrimp,” otherwise known as stomatopods. They’ve got a giant club (or spear) that can shatter aquarium glass, they can see polarized light, and they come in gorgeous colors.
My favorite is the Octopus. I think it is a combination of intelligence and physical flexibility. I am so jealous! I wish I could fit through a 3-inch hole! An octopus can figure out how to work a screw-top jar to get at a crab.
I’m going to go with Orcas.
1. They’re stunning.
2. They’re intelligent.
3. They send even Great Whites running for cover (third to last paragraph is the best). Now that’s a top predator!
Alexa needs to comment on these, but I’ll sneak in one with a nod to Orcas. However, last night our family replayed Planet Earth’s – Shallow Seas slow-mo shot of the Great White snatching its prey about 1000 times. WOW. I want to be that good of a videographer!
Hands (tentacles) down, my favourite ocean creature is the squid, and for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, they are the most quintessentially alien macroscopic creature on the planet. They can be huge, they can be tiny, but their large eyes, chromatophores, tentacles, arms, suckers, beak, sharp hooks, and INTELLIGENCE make them at once the source of wonder and of nightmares. They’re what snails and clams dream of their children becoming.
Second, they’re everywhere… there’s a squid for pretty much every salt water environment. They adapt and they populate. Kill a squid and another will show up to take its place. Worse, the next one might just be annoyed that you took it’s associate. Divers torquing up Humboldt squids are learning this. I have to admit a certain sense of satisfaction when critters give humans a bit of a comeuppance.
But mostly, squids are jet-propelled, intelligent creatures with the coolest communication method of anything on the planet. We should be thankful they haven’t become angry at us yet.
LOL!! How would you feel if you bumped into the face of a Great White? ~Alexa
WOW, can a just a shrimp really shatter aquarium glass? Sounds like an amazing shrimp, I wouldn’t eat it. But I don’t eat ANY shrimp, anyway. It’s horrible to me to eat shrimp! ~Alexa
I just hope that if I go sailing that a Kraken (giant squid) doesn’t attack my ship! I also hope that if I ever night-dive into an abyss that I don’t see a sperm-whale-vs.-a-squid fight. ~Alexa
I never knew Orcas could run off a Great White like that! Thank you for that amazing article. They are good hunters all right, like the Great Whites are. ~Alexa
This reminds me of our watching an ocean life video in school last week. The narrator said, “and now for the AMAZING Octo!” I like the octopus, too, because it’s a tiny bit cute and I love how it can fit through small spaces because it has no bones. ~Alexa
Giant Pacific Octopus. They are clever escape artists to fit through tiny crevices, rapacious eaters and lovers of all food, full of emotions and disguises with their changing skin texture and color, unique swimmers with jet propulsion and a sideways slink. They care for their eggs to the point of starvation. And they live fully in the present since their lives are short.
California Sea Lion! They are very social and like to cuddle when they nap so they stay warm. They’re really curious and like to investigate strangers from a distance. I always wonder what it’s like for mammals who live in the ocean instead of on land- what interesting lives!
I’m late to the party … but cuttlefish. And here’s why:
http://scienceblogs.com/zooillogix/2008/06/baby_cuttlefish_spot_prey_befo.php
My favorite fish is the Pacific spiny lumpsucker!! This little snailfish is really cute and he has modified pelvic fins that form a sucker that allows him to stick to rocks and seaweed. When they swim they look like cute little humming birds. They have cool round bumpy scales that cover there body.
PS: My Dad photgraphs them and he has many pictures of them on his web site – emeralddiving.com.
My favorite sea critter is the spotted ratfish, which are related to sharks and rays, and live between 40-3,000 feet deep. Their tails make up almost half of their body length and they have cute faces with big emerald green eyes. My favorite thing about them? They are very graceful swimmers, and they will do barrel-rolls and corkscrews as if they were flying. Whenever I fed them as an intern at the Florida Aquarium, they would do spins on the surface, as if they were excited to eat, and it looked like a water ballet! Watch them swim here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2_sVRvDzMI
okay lex my favorite at the moment is the jelly fish.??? Why? I watched the movie Seven Pounds and he had one in a tank, it was sooo relaxing to watch it swim around. I wish I had the time for a giant aquarium of my own. I love the sound of the water and just watching the fish, well lets just say I could do it for hours. I still have not seem all the ocean life there is to see so my favorite is still out there somewhere.