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The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

zapatopi.net

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Re: The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

#151

Post by RajT88 »

mr_toad wrote: post #134
molticrystal wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well there are mudskippers [0] [1] which can end up crawling up to and resting on branches and trees growing out of the water. So while it seems untrue, it wouldn't be far fetched for a species of octopus adapted to end up doing so, especially if the out of water circumstances are narrow enough(very temporary, trunks & branches very close to water, etc). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudskippers [1] https://www.y…

There is a species of octopus that does crawl out of the water to hunt (Australian, of course), but they don’t climb trees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebeNeQFUMa0

And there's enough improbable animals out there it doesn't sound crazy. Shrimps that live in the desert, crabs that live on land, frogs which live in trees, lobsters and mussels and shrimps and jellyfish that live in fresh waters.

Re: The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

#152

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

Hendrikto wrote: post #94
bantou_41 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think part of the purpose of sharing this website without saying anything about it might be to show that, in the age of the internet and AI, we don’t really verify information before consuming it. It’s not just children who are gullible. A lot of what we read on the internet is second hand information, facts with subjective interpretations, opinions, or straight up false information.

> in the age of the internet and AI, we don’t really verify information before consuming it As if this had ever been different. I would even argue that, because it is simply much easier to do, people are more incentivized to fact-check imformation, than 100 years ago.

I for one think it used to be very different.

That is, there used to be some pretty universal, trusted sources of information. Encyclopedia Brittanica, for one simple example. And I'm not saying these sources never had errors or they didn't embed some of the societal biases in their reports, but they clearly had an institutional desire to report facts correctly, and pretty much nobody questioned that intent, regardless of political leanings.

The ease with which anyone can publish anything on the Internet is a double-edged sword. It makes it more possible to challenge the status quo, but it also means that some crackpot can produce a slick video that, to many people, is just as valid as some well-researched documentary that at least attempts to be unbiased.

Re: The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

#153

Post by adonovan »

megmogandog wrote: post #74
oatmeal1 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't mean to spoil the fun, downvote me if this is not in the spirit, but it took me way too long to figure this out and others may be as slow as me and save some time by reading this comment: I believed it too. The thing is, this is something no one is really incentivized to lie about. If some website says "politician did X", then your lie detector turns on, because it's worth it for lots of websites to lie or…

It reminds me of a friend in high school who convinced me that he grew scallions in his bathroom. It seemed weird but he described it in some detail, how the humidity from the shower is good for them, etc. Then when I believed him he said of course I don't do that, how could you think something so ridiculous. I don't and didn't feel like believing him in this context made me gullible for the same kinds of reasons you…

My daughters recently showed me how easy it is to grow scallions: too easy. Just cut off the bottom inch (the white bit with little roots hairs) and stick in a jar of water by a window. A week later: a complete scallion!

Re: The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

#154

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

ortusdux wrote: post #73
blamazon wrote: post #2

I don't mean to spoil the fun, downvote me if this is not in the spirit, but it took me way too long to figure this out and others may be as slow as me and save some time by reading this comment: > The Pacific Northwest tree octopus is an Internet hoax created in 1998 by a humor writer under the pseudonym Lyle Zapato. Since its creation, the Pacific Northwest tree octopus website has been commonly referenced in Inter…

To be fair, tree octopuses sound about as outlandish as land crabs, which I still have trouble believing are real. https://arthropoda.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/coconut-crab....

I think this is a great point. It's easy to come back with a "hah, look how gullible you are" when someone believes hoaxes like this, but that ignores the reality that "truth is often stranger than fiction." I mean seriously, a coconut crab specifically evolved a special breathing apparatus to survive on land - why should that be any different from an octopus having "special adaptations" to keep it from getting desiccated when out of the water for extended periods?

It's like when I used to read through Snopes feeds, and 9 times out of 10 I'd think "wow, that's so dumb, how could anyone believe that", and then the tenth time I'd think the same thing for a story that actually ended up being true.

Re: The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

#155

Post by Self-Perfection »

oatmeal1 wrote: post #18
blamazon wrote: post #2

I don't mean to spoil the fun, downvote me if this is not in the spirit, but it took me way too long to figure this out and others may be as slow as me and save some time by reading this comment: > The Pacific Northwest tree octopus is an Internet hoax created in 1998 by a humor writer under the pseudonym Lyle Zapato. Since its creation, the Pacific Northwest tree octopus website has been commonly referenced in Inter…

> I don't mean to spoil the fun, downvote me if this is not in the spirit, but it took me way too long to figure this out and others may be as slow as me and save some time by reading this comment: I believed it too. The thing is, this is something no one is really incentivized to lie about. If some website says "politician did X", then your lie detector turns on, because it's worth it for lots of websites to lie or…

Even widespread information can be false. For instance, you can not "catch cold" by getting cold, the name of the illness is misleading.

I mean absence of incentive to lie is far from universal criteria to distinguish false information.

Re: The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

#156

Post by kibibyte »

This was part of my childhood (almost 20 years ago!). Growing up, we had a lesson in either elementary or middle school in which we were all asked to read this website on the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus and fill out a research assignment on it. At the end of it, the teacher asked us if we thought it was real and revealed that it wasn't, with the lesson that, yes, even though the internet is a valuable research tool, that we shouldn't believe everything we read.

As a bonus, I think we were also asked to review some information on the aluminum foil hat. https://zapatopi.net/afdb/build.html

Re: The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

#157

Post by Zuider »

hooverd wrote: post #131
tchaffee wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gotcha

I would like to know more about growing scallops in the tub. Bathtub aquaculture is the Bitcoin.

You can use the Polynesian palm scallop, which attaches itself to the damp bathroom wall in picturesque clusters like roof shingles. It is an aerial filter feeder, capable of subsisting on household dust (which is mainly organic matter) though for faster growth, one can use a fine-mist spray of blended sausage meat and soggy marrowfat peas. They are also excellent for repelling rats, their natural predator, by emitting sharp bursts of ultrasound when the rodent's presence is detected.

The problem is in getting hold of them, as trade in this protected species is illegal.

Re: The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

#158

Post by Zuider »

retrocryptid wrote: post #90
oatmeal1 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't mean to spoil the fun, downvote me if this is not in the spirit, but it took me way too long to figure this out and others may be as slow as me and save some time by reading this comment: I believed it too. The thing is, this is something no one is really incentivized to lie about. If some website says "politician did X", then your lie detector turns on, because it's worth it for lots of websites to lie or…

Pablo Picasso once said "Art is the lie that reveals the truth." Except that he didn't really say that. What he said was "Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand." (The Arts: An Illustrated Monthly Magazine Covering All Phases of Ancient and Modern Art, NYC, 1923) Is there a subtle truth to your friend's lie? It need not be related to scallions. We perceive the worl…

In must cultures of the world, shared history is a consensual fiction, which is regarded as being truer than the truth.

Re: The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

#159

Post by Zuider »

alwaysbeconsing wrote: post #35
oatmeal1 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't mean to spoil the fun, downvote me if this is not in the spirit, but it took me way too long to figure this out and others may be as slow as me and save some time by reading this comment: I believed it too. The thing is, this is something no one is really incentivized to lie about. If some website says "politician did X", then your lie detector turns on, because it's worth it for lots of websites to lie or…

> The thing is, this is something no one is really incentivized to lie about I don't think it's lying in the sense of trying to make someone else actually believe it. It's just a form of creative fiction writing. It can be a lot of fun to write in this mode; when well done it's a pleasant kind of erudite humor because to produce it (and get it) you have to be somewhat knowledgeable in the topic. Mockumentaries might…

The British Flat Earth Society is a joke society in this vein. They amuse themselves by writing very erudite debunkings of the nefarious Spherical Earth conspiracy theory, and sending strongly worded Cease & Desist notices to NASA.

Re: The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

#160

Post by 1024core »

blamazon wrote: post #2

I don't mean to spoil the fun, downvote me if this is not in the spirit, but it took me way too long to figure this out and others may be as slow as me and save some time by reading this comment: > The Pacific Northwest tree octopus is an Internet hoax created in 1998 by a humor writer under the pseudonym Lyle Zapato. Since its creation, the Pacific Northwest tree octopus website has been commonly referenced in Inter…

I saw the photos of snow and immediately realized it was fake.
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