Paul, the Psychic Octopus

Paul, the Octopus, has done it again! Paul is a British-born octopus, living in an aquarium at Sea Life in Oberhausen, western Germany. His 'psychic' prowess has gained him a good following, made him a celebrity even. He has correctly predicted a series of German wins and even Germany's surprise group-stage loss to Serbia. He holds a 100% track record so far.



Soccer fans across Germany was hoping his prediction of a German loss in their World Cup semi-final with Spain would fail him. We all know better now, don't we? Indeed, Germany lost 0-1 to Spain last night.

How Paul does his prediction is to pick the food from two different plastic containers lowered into his tank - one decorated with a Spanish flag and one with a Germany flag. The container which Paul opens first is seen as his pick.

He settled on both containers at first in a sign of hesitation before opening the box with the Spanish flag. The speed with which Paul opens the box is also indicative of the ease with which the win would be as shown in the video above showing Paul's speed in opening the Germany box when placed with the one for England. Germany beat England 4-1 in that match.

Would you believe it? The decision was broadcast live on several news channels in Germany, although commentators immediately cast doubt over the prediction.

I wonder will Paul be asked to pick the World Cup winner and if so, will the prediction come true. I suppose bookmakers and punters alike are now watching Paul closely. However, bear in mind that while Paul's record has been flawless at the World Cup, he has wrongly picked Germany as the winner against Spain at Euro 2008.

Stay tuned for more of Paul..