Our fascination for the eight-tentacled wonder called the octopus never ceases. Here is a brief list of cultural and commercial references to the marvelous cephalapod, proving you don't have to be an island nation like Japan to be fascinated by tentacled creatures...

Luxury Brand: Louis Vuitton

In 2012, Louis Vuitton collaborated with pop artist Yayoi Kusama, who is magnificently dot-obsessed, to creates storefronts and interiors that were aburst with abstract tentacles.

Comic Book: Doc Ock

4 extra appendages + 2 arms + 2 legs = Doctor Octopus, or Doc Ock, the popular villain in Spiderman, who puts his extra appendages to good, or rather, bad use.  

Blockbuster Badass: Davy Jones

Speaking of villains, here's one octopodal badass, the character Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean, based on H.P. Lovecraft's original vision of a octopus-monster creature in his story "Call of the Cthulhu." 

Cartoon Cute: Pearl

At first blush, the cuteness of the little octopus in Finding Nemo seems to have been exaggerated by the animators. But in fact, Pearl is modeled after the flapjack octopus, also called the O. californiana. 

Real & Famous: Paul

One real-life famous octopus was Paul the Octopus, who lived his brief life in a marine center in Germany and became famous as an oracle of sorts, predicting the winners of the World Cup more often than not. How did they even know he was a soccer fan? 

Can you think of other cute, villanous or exceptional octopus characters or imagery?