Pretty much nothing is factually true in that 'research' other than that octopi live in the ocean. For example, modern octopi do NOT arrange bones into 'art' gardens as Mark McManmin asserts. Arstechica sums it up best with the article 'The giant, prehistoric squid that ate common sense' at http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/10/the-giant-prehistoric-squid-that-ate-common-sense.ars The best quote from Ars is "We have a serious problem with science journalism. A big one, in fact, and today that problem takes the form of a giant, prehistoric squid with tentacles so formidable that it has sucked the brains right out of staff writers’ heads."

The bottom of the ocean can be mapped. The tool of choice is the side-scan sonar [obligatory wikipedia reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side-scan_sonar ], either towed behind a ship or, if your research group is incredibly cool, from an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) See http://www.mbari.org/news/homepage/2005/mapping-auv.html

Ha Ha! Well said!