An octo by any other name

[Kaiser442]

So, this is something that is just really bothering me to the core of my nerdy obsessive-compulsive self:

Did people get confused over time and change which piece of equipment is called the octopus?

I mean, Here I have my first stage - with all these hoses sticking out of it at different angles... and damned if it doesn't just LOOK like an octopus.... and yet the thing that is actually CALLED an octo looks a lot more like a hockey puck.

Does anyone have a reason why a backup/emergency 2nd stage is called an octopus?

:huh:

 

[eponym]

You nailed it. High-pressure hoses came along to support the new SPGs, then the second second-stage made its appearance on another hose, and someone said, "is that an octopus you're using?"

So now we refer to the backup second-stage as "the octopus" although it was the increasing number of hoses that sparked the comment.

For extra credit: where does the name "J-Valve" come from?

Bryan

 

[Footslogger]

I don't think it's so much the actual extra second stage that caused the word "octopus" to be used ...it was more the fact that with the octo rig you added another hose making the entire set-up from the first stage outward begin to look like an octopus.

I've been diving for over 30 years and my original single hose regulator had only the primary hose and a high pressure hose with a pressure gauge coming off the first stage. Then came the BCD, with the need for a low pressure inflator hose and finally the extra second stage for buddy breathing. That's when I remember the term "octopus" being used for the first time and it just became associated with the added second stage and hose.

'Slogger

 

[octgal]

Octos simply rock

 

[Sideband]

For extra credit: where does the name "J-Valve" come from?

Bryan

The letter it was under in the catalog. The K valve was the next item.

Joe

 

[Footslogger]

The letter it was under in the catalog. The K valve was the next item.

Joe

======================================
I always thought the J-valve got it's name from the metal "J" shaped rod that rode alongside your tank and was the activator for your reserve air supply.

Don't know about the K-valve ...but the above explanation is good enough for me.

'Slogger

 

[eponym]

The letter it was under in the catalog. The K valve [of "did I remember to open the reserve when I filled it?" fame] was the next item.

Ding! And we have a correct answer! Thank you, caller number one. Don't forget to keep listening for more chances to win great prizes!

Bryan

 

[Kaiser442]

okay - well I guess that makes sense... so it's just that the name stuck to the last thing that was added - the thing that cemented the look of the whole rig as an octopus.

Thanks!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

The letter it was under in the catalog. The K valve was the next item.

Joe

LOL - and for extra credit ... whose catalog?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[devilfish]

LOL - and for extra credit ... whose catalog?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Sears