When it comes to finding an alien on Earth, the closest thing you’ll find that might fit that description is an octopus. They have eight tentacles that are highly sensitive, can manipulate objects independently, and can even taste what they touch (sounds like a curse to us, but okay). They can change color and texture using specialized skin cells called chromatophores to blend into their environment and avoid predators. One minute they are smooth and red; the next, they are morphing into a sandy color with a rough texture.

They have no bones aside from a razor-sharp beak, and because of this, they can squeeze through ridiculously tight spaces. On top of all that, they are very smart—like, almost scary smart. If you were trying to pass these off as otherworldly invaders to someone with no knowledge of the sea, they’d probably believe you.

This particular specimen is Octopus vulgaris, which lives only around 1–2 years. They grow fast, reproduce, and then they bounce, living the rockstar life under the waves. These particular specimens were farm-raised, so no underwater rebel aliens were removed from the sea to create this.

We’re spoiled in North America when you really think about it. Other continents get poisonous snakes, weird spiders, or giant carnivorous cats roaming their backyards, and we get the one and only trash panda. While they may look like someone smashed a mix of a cat and dog together, raccoons are actually smaller relatives of bears.

One of the reasons they seem to grace our properties and back porches at night is that raccoons are easily adaptable to various environments. They can live in a hollow tree just as happily as they can in abandoned cars. Depending on the car, it can get pretty comfy for them. Their hands resemble human hands, and boy, do they put them to work. They have five fingers and use their hands to collect food, open shells, doors, or trash cans. It’s always fun when they get into your trash can, right?

Raccoons often place food in water before they start to eat it. If you’re an outdoor cat owner like me, you’ll know that if you leave dry cat food outside overnight next to the water bowl, raccoons will absolutely make a mess of things. Next time you forget to bring the food in and wonder why the water looks so gross, it’s because the furry little bandits were dipping the food in the water before they ate it. They do this because they have a highly sensitive sense of touch, and water increases that sensitivity even more. I’m not sure what’s so sensually appealing about dipping cat food in water, but hey, to each their own.

Big ED doesn’t want you to know this, but some animals have mastered the art of… well, you know, by adding a bone down there! This curved and somewhat provocative bone is called a baculum. It’s a specialized bone found in the penis of many mammals, including most primates, rodents, bats, and carnivores. It helps support the penis during mating, allowing for longer or firmer copulation.

Sadly for us humans, we evolved away from the baculum around 5 to 7 million years ago, which means for you guys out there, you’ll probably need to keep carrying those pills around on date night as you get older. Oddly enough, humans’ closest living animal relatives, chimpanzees, still have their baculum. It’s unclear why nature decided we no longer needed one, but scientists speculate that it’s linked to monogamous mating strategies or changes in sexual behavior, where erections became fully dependent on blood flow rather than a bone.

The one in this box belongs to a raccoon, which still needs the bone to ensure mating is reliable and effective. For them, it’s more about making more tiny raccoons, while humans are more focused on, let’s just say, a wider range of outcomes. Either way, this curved bone is a tiny firecracker of a conversation starter. Just be warned: those conversations might get kinda awkward—kind of like this copy.

Orthoceras fossils are basically the ancient cousins of squids, and believe it or not, these guys once cruised around the same area that’s now the Sahara Desert in Morocco. Back in the Devonian period, about 350 million years ago, the whole region was covered by ocean, and Orthoceras were living their best undersea lives—some even grew up to six feet long! When they died, their shells settled into what eventually became black marble, where we find them today.

They got around by squirting water to jet themselves forward and used their tentacles to snag food, which they chopped up with their parrot-shaped beaks. The fossils you see now are polished right out of that ancient rock, and some even have gorgeous crystallized chambers. Each one is like a little time capsule from the world’s oldest seafood buffet.

Madagascar Amethyst is a type of amethyst that comes straight from Madagascar, a big island off the southeast coast of Africa, as the name suggests. It’s a variety of quartz like all amethysts, but the color is really something to marvel at. These amethysts have a lighter purple shade that borders on periwinkle. It's a heavenly hue that makes them stand out from other amethyst. Somehow, their soft color and mesmerizing crystal formations had a calming effect on us, kind of like how a candle can charm your thoughts more than a roaring bonfire when the mood is just right.

According to Metaphysics: Amethyst is a calming and meditative stone that works on emotional, spiritual, and physical levels to foster calm, balance, patience, and peace. It is commonly used in spiritual practices to deepen your connection to your inner self and enhance intuitive abilities. Beyond boosting intuition, Amethyst’s metaphysical properties aid in finding inner peace, helping you relax and unwind when you need it most, whether before sleep, during stressful times, or prior to meditation.

Named way back in 1789 by Abraham Gottlieb Werner, kyanite gets its name from the Greek word kyanos, which basically means “blue,” the same color as most of these stunning crystals. Kyanite is a gorgeous, slightly fancy, and pretty rare gemstone that hangs out mostly in metamorphic rocks. How it forms is kind of dramatic. Sedimentary rocks get smooshed and heated until their clay minerals transform under high pressure. Most of the time, kyanite shows up in schists as those sharp, bladed crystals you see in collections and every now and then it goes full diva mode, forming fancy radiating masses of crystals.

According to metaphysics: Kyanite is an excellent stone for meditation and attunement. It will not retain negative vibrations or energy, therefore never requiring clearing. Kyanite aligns all chakras and subtle bodies instantly. It provides balance of yin-yang energy and dispels blockages, moving energy gently through the physical body. Kyanite has a calming effect on the whole being, bringing tranquility.

Calcite is one of those crystals that sometimes gets overlooked because it is so common, but really, it is kinda awesome. For instance, the name “calcite” comes from the Latin calx, meaning lime. No, not the kind you put in your Corona. We are talking about limestone. Calcite is a primary component of limestone, so you will often find them together.

Blue calcite gets its color from tiny amounts of other elements hanging out in the crystal, like cobalt, copper, or iron. It is like an element party, but instead of a trashed house, you get a gorgeous shade of blue. These crystals have a light blue core with almost frosty-looking edges. They remind us of an ancient glacier or a piece of heaven fallen to earth. That last one might be a little dramatic, but the imagery sticks with us.

As mentioned before, calcite is all over the place. It is found in several locations around the world, including Mexico, South Africa, and the United States. Sure, you could call it common, but if millions of years of heat and pressure combining to create a celestial glue crystal is common, then common is pretty fascinating.

According to metaphysics, Blue Calcite brings confidence and integrity to our spiritual life. It helps us articulate our beliefs to ourselves and others and engage in behaviors that support our faith. It is particularly helpful for spiritual practices that involve deep or rhythmic breathing, such as yoga, meditation, and singing.