My 8-Year-Old Spotted a Tree Full of Octopus Wieners

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In Japan, "tako-san wiener" *(tako = octopus)* refers to a classic bento staple: a small sausage with its base cut into four or six slits, then pan-fried so the legs curl outward like octopus tentacles. It's the kind of thing every Japanese child grows up eating, and the shape is immediately recognizable to anyone who has ever opened a Japanese lunchbox.

During a neighborhood walk, a mother's 8-year-old son spotted something in a tree and yelled "Tako-san wiener!!" She assumed he was imagining things — until she looked up. The tree was a pomegranate in bloom, and its bright red flowers, with their frilled, splayed petals, look almost surgically identical to the beloved lunchbox sausage. The photos she posted went quietly viral, and the replies quickly turned into a support group for people who can never unsee it.