These nine videos may look convincing, but they are all hoaxes. Some were created by advertising firms to promote a product, and others are simply April Fools jokes. If you want to show them to someone WITHOUT letting on that they are hoaxes, you can go to the individual YouTube pages, and display the videos in full screen.
Bogus Websites Reader Reviews
The following site reviews were submitted by readers like you. Discovered (or created) a cool site we should know about? Click here to add URL.The Spider Under the Toilet Seat Hoax
May 9, 2011 -- Submitted by Louise, a parent from Chicago, who is not affiliated with the site.
In September of 1999, a spider hoax started circulating on the Internet about an alleged article published in the Journal of the United Medical Association regarding a supposed deadly South American spider, Arachnius gluteus, which was said to have been brought into Chicago, had supposedly killed several women who had visited Big Chappie’s Restaurant in Blare Airport. This hoax was widely circulated and passed along by concerned people.
The Onion
April 13, 2011 -- Submitted by Beth, a teacher from Wisconsin, who is not affiliated with the site.
This is not a bogus website. It is an online satiracle newspaper started in Madison, Wisconsin
Save the Tree Octopus
April 12, 2011 -- Submitted by Suzanne Casey, a teacher from Moorestown, NJ, who is not affiliated with the site.
I use this site with my students to show howreal a site can look and still be totally bogus. The kids really get hooked thinking it could be real until we dissect the site ! And it’s so well done, including fake ads and wonderful pictures — kudos to its author!
Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus
April 12, 2011 -- Submitted by Carol Ann Brusven, a teacher from Mountain View, CA, who is not affiliated with the site.
Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus is a great hoax site. Kids love it. When first shown the Web site, they think Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus is a real animal, and they find it fascinating to learn about this amazing creature. Soon, most catch on that there is something not quite right. They start to question, even though they can see the pictures for themselves, and the support material is written in a factual, straight-forward way. The site is a great resource when teaching that you can’t believe everything you read — especially on the internet!
Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus
April 12, 2011 -- Submitted by a reader from Arizona, who is not affiliated with the site.
Classic site. Focus of the New Literacies Research Team’s study. Here’s an interesting tidbit: the study also found that many of the students who perform WORST on standard, book-based reading assessments are among the BEST performers for internet literacy.
Dehydrated water
April 12, 2011 -- Submitted by a reader from AZ, who is not affiliated with the site.
it even links to a purchase-page on Amazon!
