The Octopus, known around campus as “the Octy,” was a satirical publication started in 1919 that poked fun at faculty, the administration and prohibition. Even though most writers were involved in Greek life, the magazine also satirized fraternity and sorority life. The publication ran until 1960, spending the last years of its run with offices in the basement of the University Club. Rumor has it that two things killed the Octy — the magazines MAD and Playboy.

Two decades later, efforts to revive the publication, failed but numerous other humor magazines emerged. Bite magazine, led by staffers of The Badger Herald, was a small endeavor that restarted the satirical trend. This was followed by another publication founded in 1988 by an ex-Daily Cardinal staffer, widely known and respected today as The Onion.