Pacific tree octopus facts for kids

The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus is an internet hoax created in 1998 by Lyle Zapato. It was said to be able to live on both land and water, unlike other octopuses.

The original website that described the fake species is commonly used as an example in internet literacy classes to teach students to check more carefully if sources of information are reliable.

The text included other hoax species and organizations, mixed with links to pages about real species and organizations. Despite the falsehoods shown on the site, all 25 seventh-grade students involved in one well-publicized test believed the content. All but one of the 25 rated the site as "very credible".

Images for kids

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  Doctored image of the Pacific Northwest tree octopus as it appears on the website

See also

In Spanish: Pulpo arborícola del noroeste del Pacífico para niños