Tree Octopus: Is It Real or Fake?
BUSTED!!
The tree octopus site is often used by many instructors in their classroom to help students distinguish between fake sites and the real ones. In one of the studies conducted by researchers of the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education, 25 seventh graders were asked to evaluate the site and answer the question, 'tree octopus, is it real or fake?'. In a startling result, 24 of the students had no doubts about the site's authenticity. Instances of such hoaxes being accepted for real are many. We are so prone to accepting information that is given to us within a search of just 20 seconds without putting our own judgment into exercise, that such incidents cast a shadow of doubt on our critical thinking abilities.
The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus is an internet hoax created by Lyle Zapato, a Washington-based author and Web publisher, in 1998.
Click on the icon above to learn why a tree octopus can't exist!!