Germany’s octopus oracle picks Spain to win World Cup
 
 
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18 May 2013 Saturday
 
 
 
 
 
 

Germany’s octopus oracle picks Spain to win World Cup

Octopus Paul, better known as the so-called “octopus oracle,” swims in front of a soccer ball in his tank at the Sea Life Aquarium in Germany.
10 July 2010 /AP
Eyes around the world were on Germany’s octopus oracle Paul on Friday as he made his biggest prediction yet in the World Cup: Spain will beat the Netherlands in the final.
Paul’s prescient picks in the World Cup -- he has yet to predict a match wrong -- have propelled him to international fame from obscurity a month ago in an aquarium in the western city of Oberhausen.

TV stations in Germany, Great Britain, Taiwan and elsewhere broadcast live pictures, complete with breathless commentary, of his final decision for the tournament. Millions watched as the world-famous octopus descended upon on a tank marked with a Spanish flag, sitting for only a few minutes before grabbing a mussel and devouring it, while completely ignoring the Dutch tank -- indicating a Spanish victory in Sunday’s final match in Sunday’s final.

It was the first time he’d been tasked to pick a game in which Germany wasn’t involved, as the Oberhausen Sea Life aquarium bowed to overwhelming demand to see who he would choose in the final.

Paul correctly predicted Germany’s wins over Argentina, England, Australia and Ghana and the country’s loss to Spain and Serbia. He also predicted earlier on Friday that Germany will win over Uruguay in today’s match for third and fourth place.

“Paul is such a professional oracle -- he doesn’t even care that hundreds of journalists are watching and commenting on every move he makes,” said Stefan Porwoll, the Sea Life aquarium manager.

 
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