Lately, we at the Institute for the Study of Sharks and Octopi have been receiving a lot of e-mails from confused citizens wondering what the whole "Shark/Octopus thing" is really about.

Well, we're here to explain it.

Since the dawn of evolution, man has often wondered aloud who would win in a fight: sharks or octopi? And while it seems pretty clear that sharks would be the obvious overdog, scientific research continually shows the octopi as consistent victors.

What could be going on? Might the octopus' ink be more effective on sharks than the layman might suspect? Perhaps. Or is it something more interesting...Might the sharks and octopi be some sort of "Evolutionary symbiotic friendship diad," which might lead to a natural "letting the octopi win," as it were?

And of course, no scientist has been able to keep a tally of fight winners in the wild, so no one can really say who wins more in nature? We at The Institute think it might just be the sharks.

As respected physicist Joseph A. Hannon has noted, "Sharks and Octopuses aren't even animals. Animals have fur."