For the past few weeks, amidst global World Cup madness, a young German octopus named Paul has been accurately predicting the victors of each football match from inside his tank at SeaLife Aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany. Today was no exception: Paul chose Spain over Germany, once again proving his dissenters wrong:
Today, the Twittersphere has been abuzz with quips, criticisms, and encouragements for Paul, with “psychic octopus” trending in some locales (such as the UK). In India, mojorojo had a limerick to share:
Prior to the outcome of the game, some Twitter users were perhaps a bit concerned for Paul's safety in Germany. Dutch DJ Tiesto quipped:
if Germany loses they will make fried calamari out of Paul the octopus! haha
Others offered tributes to Paul, such as Paris and Jakarta-based narizza:
next time I go to sushi bar I will salute all the octopus, including tako sashimi and chuka lidako.
Others are clearly doubtful of Paul's abilities. Dubai-based duguzzle shared this sarcastic remark about the soothsaying cephalopod:
Paul the octopus just said it's going to be hot in Dubai tomorrow.
Kenya-based uncleTeeJay may have a use for the eight-tentacled creature, but still suggests nefarious plans:
That octopus should be sought for referendum results. It may do us some good before cooked
What remains to be seen is who Paul will pick for the final matches…and whether or not he'll end up as takoyaki.
18 comments
Good compilation, Jillian
Why does everyone want to cook this poor (genius) octopus?
I heard that Paul the octopus always chooses the box placed on his right. That maybe an explanation of his psychic abilities.
Great news!
If could also possibly be that little snack that they are putting in the boxes that causes him to choose. They put whatever Paul likes best in the box of the country that the handlers think is going to win.
So you’re saying the handlers are psychic? ;-)
I was wondering the same thing!
Here is another limerick for Paul
Paul the Psychic Octopus
———————————
There once lived an octopus Paul,
Who loved a good game of football.
And when asked to choose,
Who would win, who would lose,
He was oft right, as you would recall.
Then one day when he wouldn’t flatter
The Germans, who lost, there was chatter
Among fans that the dude
Octopus Paul be stewed
And then served up as seafood platter!
LOL brilliant
Aparna, this is awesome :)
Haha, I don’t know how you do it Aparna. Brilliant.
Nice one Aparna :)
Here’s a bit of malacological trivia. Paul was “hatched 2008”, according to Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_octopus
That makes him quite old by octopus standards. _Octopus vulgaris_ has an average lifespan of 12 to 18 months, a bit longer in captivity. This may be a case of wisdom coming with age.
Very old! Actually a source in Germany told me that animal rights activists called for Paul to be released in the wild, but that aquarium officials said his advanced age would make it unlikely for him to survive on his own.
Oh no! Do you feel it appropriate for me to adjust the article to reflect the fact that Paul is not young, but in fact, a rather elderly octopus?
Perhaps we should chip in and buy him a monocle ;)
Aparna thanks for the wonderful insight, I think Kenya should hire Paul to predict the referendum result so as to avoid another post election violence or most probably an early pre-election violence.
Thanks folks :-)