Uncle Bucky's Octopus & Squid Petting Zoo

Back in the 1950s Uncle Bucky opened the first (and only) cephalopod petting zoo in the small seaside town of Scawatchita, Florida. He did a brisk business for more than 30 years. People came from near and far to reach into the petting tanks. Children laughed as they stroked the baby octopi. Having your photo snapped feeding the aggressive Humboldt Squid was a rite of passage. After years of prosperity, fate dealt Bucky a wicked blow. The new super highway diverted most of the tourist traffic and the zoo fell on hard times. Eventually people stopped visiting altogether. For most, the novelty of feeding and petting multi-legged sea creatures wasn't worth the trouble of taking the exit and finding this little zoo on the edge of that dying, southern town. One night, under a full moon, Uncle Bucky released his pets back into the ocean. Their years of service finally rewarded with returned freedom. You can still see him sitting out there some nights, usually knee deep in the tide, with a bottle of rum in one hand and a bag of Purina Octopus & Squid Chow® in his other.

Own a piece of history with your very own "Uncle Bucky Octopus & Squid" petting zoo T-Shirt. You owe it to yourself.

But seriously folks... here's how that silly shirt came about. I made a joke about that to Matt on Twitter. He said that would make a good T-shirt... so I found a bit of clip art... threw it together in about twenty minutes. Done. Actually just wanted to see how fast I could take a dumb idea and turn it into a tangible.