How many known actual cases are there where an octopus killed a human?
This movie got me to wondering how many actual known cases there are of an octopus, of ANY kind or size, killing a human being (let alone eating them). I know that there were incidents where scuba divers were grabbed by an octopus, and held down, and because of that potential danger, scuba divers are often warned not to get too close to an octopus or even just a dark cave that may contain one. And NEVER poke at one or agitate it, or try to "pet it." But the warning is mainly because the octopus is simply inquisitive as they are extremely intelligent and curious... they are not being intentionally aggressive, even if they do get rough & knock off a mask or disconnect the oxygen supply in the process. And I do know there is one kind of octopus, the Blue Ringed octopus (only 5-8 inches long), that is actually venomous and can make a human very sick. There are only TWO known cases, however, of people dying from the bite of this little octopus and both times it was because the person allowed the octopus to literally crawl on them (out of water, apparently; both times they were bringing the octopus back to show other people).
Alright, so those instances ASIDE, there seem to be NO CASES of octopus, of ANY kind or size, aggressively attacking a human being with apparent intention of killing & eating the human. No one has ever been locked in the embrace of an octopus that ended up with the human dying from being bitten by the creature. And while they do warn scuba divers of the possibility of drowning at the hands (er, tentacles) of a formidably-sized octopus, I could not find a single article (just googling) reporting a case of a diver drowning because of an octopus.
So, does anyone know of any verifiable reports of a human EVER dying from an "octopus attack?" I'm certainly not saying there aren't any or trying it make it sound that way, but after just a cursory skim through several differently-worded google searches, I can't find anything. Only a few scuba diver warnings about the potential of drowning in the clutches of a curious &/or agitated octopus that could hold a person down until they run out of air, or squeeze them hard enough to cut off their oxygen supply (or squeeze their neck), and hardly ANY mention of being bitten even once by the beak, let alone repeated bites or what would seem to be an attempt to actually eat the person. So anyone upset by the baby-eating opening scene, you can rest easy at night knowing that incident likely never actually happened.
"Questions are a danger to you, and a burden to others." -Mr. Krabs