Paul the Octopus, Germany

Octopi are rated to be highly intelligent than most other invertebrates, but can that be a reason as to how Paul, the Octopus, makes correct choices between the countries? Paul, the octopus, became a global sensation with his accurate match predictions during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Considering some of the facts and features of Octopus it is difficult to determine how Paul could do the predictions.

Paul had unusual talent for unscrewing jar lids, suggesting both strong physical and psychic abilities for an octopus. He lived in Sea Life Oberhausen in Germany

Characteristics of Octopus

  • Octopi are deaf; therefore definitely Paul is not following anybody’s orders. Almost on its self will, it chooses to settle down with the country of its choice.
  • Octopi have three hearts; probably that is why Paul’s heart beats for other countries too, other than Germany.
  • Nothing is known about its color blindness or its color sensitiveness, Paul can therefore be not accused of being attracted to a certain color or pattern in flags.

Paul the Octopus

Paul the Octopus

Predictive abilities of an octopus named Paul. He nicknamed the “octopus oracle” for this

  • During Euro 2008 he successfully predicted the outcomes of four out of six matches by selecting a mussel from boxes representing the German flag and the opponent’s flag.
  • During the 2010 World Cup, Paul correctly predicted the outcome of all of Germany’s matches, going 8-0 in his predictions.
  • His predictions included Germany’s quarterfinal victory over Argentina and Spain’s win over the Netherlands in the World Cup final.

Whatever, Paul has given us so much to talk about in the final days of FIFA, the laughter that it brought us, not taking all these seriously I would like to wish, may the best team win.

In the UK, cephalopods such as octopuses are regarded as honorary vertebrates under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and other cruelty to animals legislation, extending to them protections not normally afforded to invertebrates. So if anybody has plans to slice it up and fry and gobble it up, they will have to rethink.

Sadly, Paul the Octopus passed away on 26th October 2010. Octopus are known to have very short life span. Some species live for max 5 years. Unfortunately Paul survived only for 2 years and 9 months (26 Jan 2008 to 26 Oct 2010).

The Oberhausen aquarium erected a memorial of the psychic octopus with a golden urn containing his ashes.

Psychic Animals make Predictions

Several psychic animals gained popularity during and after the FIFA World Cup. Notable among them are:

  • Paul the Octopus, who became famous for accurately predicting the outcomes of several matches in the 2010 World Cup
  • Taiyo the Otter, who was touted as the successor to Paul
  • Mani the Parakeet – had the ability to predict football match outcomes. He accurately predicted all four quarter-final results by selecting cards. But he called the semi-final wrong and in the final he plumped for the Netherlands over Spain, which Paul the Octopus did correctly.
  • Achilles, a white deaf cat – the official tournament feline forecaster of the Golden Boot in 2018
  • Olivia the grey Parrot
  • Oobi-Ooobi the Koala
  • Kent the Gibbon and more…

What is an octopus bet in football?

An octopus bet in football refers to a specific statistical event that occurs in an NFL (National Football League) game. It takes place when a player successfully scores a touchdown and immediately follows it up with a 2-point conversion. According to the Action Network, there have been a total of 168 octopus occurrences in NFL history as of 2022. This count includes instances since the introduction of the 2-point conversion rule in 1994.

You may like these:

Pin this for later

Paul the Octopus world cup predictions

Uffizi Gallery Florence – Tips for Tickets and Tour
Details on Doors of Baptistery Florence Cathedral

24 Responses to “Paul the Octopus, Germany

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.