Pacific Northwest tree octopus - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
  • 200ok@lemmy.worldEnglish
    23·
    4 天前

    The Pacific Northwest tree octopus is an Internet hoax created in 1998 by a humor writer under the pseudonym Lyle Zapato.[1][2] Since its creation, the Pacific Northwest tree octopus website has been commonly referenced in Internet literacy classes in schools and has been used in multiple studies demonstrating children’s gullibility regarding online sources of information.

    • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      15·
      3 天前

      PNW Tree Octopus is not real, it can’t hurt you.

      … but Geoducks…

      Oh they’re real.

      Legend has it that if you mispronounce their name, one will visit you in the night.

        • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          2·
          3 天前

          Welp, I guess I should have expected a clam aficionado to appear.

          … it is midday though. Close enough.

          Yes, you’re right, its penises that look like clam siphons, not the other way around.

        • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          3·
          3 天前

          … wait you don’t want to be visited by one of these in the night, lol?

          God I love geoducks.

          Not a duck.

          Not a geodude.

          Basically a giant penis clam.

          … very gooey.

          The wonders of nature and lingusitics.

    • Crewman@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      1·
      3 天前

      I don’t know why this is a test for gullibility, this is entirely a thing that could exist! Nature’s weird and wonderful.

      • deft@lemmy.wtfEnglish
        1·
        3 天前

        Not really everything about an octopus would say this don’t mesh. I think they can definitely evolve to become something that climbs trees given the right circumstances but an octopus as is would just freeze over.

      • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        1·
        3 天前

        … arboreal creatures tend to have skeletons or at least exoskeletons.

        They also tend to not asphyxiate from being in a tree for 45 minutes.

        A jackalope is actually a much more plausible made up animal.