STORY TO BE TOLD

Paul the octopus oracle found dead

Paul the octopus has picked his last winner. The eight-legged German oracle who gained worldwide fame by consistently predicting the victors of the 2010 World Cup football matches has died, aquarium officials announced Tuesday.

Paul was found dead in his tank Tuesday morning by “devastated” staff at the Oberhausen Sea Life Aquarium, a statement read. He died peacefully overnight, the statement added.

He was two years and 10 months old.

“Paul predicted his way into the hearts of audiences during the football World Cup 2010 and earned world fame as an octopus oracle,” the aquarium statement read.

Quick to head off any suspicions of foul play or neglect, general manager Stefan Porwoll, said: “He died peacefully in the night of a natural death. It is a comforting thought that he had a good life with us, with the best possible care by a dedicated team.”

Porwoll added: “Paul inspired people on all continents, as he correctly predicted, one after another, seven matches for the German national team as well as the final. He was dear to all our hearts and we will miss him painfully.”

Paul’s body is now in a refrigerator and is expected to be cremated in the next few days.

The aquarium will now erect a memorial “to honour Paul and on the basis of worldwide interest.”

The memorial will show the “most beautiful and moving moments.”

The urn containing Paul’s ashes will be put on display, as will the Perspex boxes in which the national flags of football teams were lowered into Paul’s tank for him to make his famous predictions.

Paul’s correct prediction of eight straight matches had one chance in 256. After the World Cup 2010, the aquarium was besieged by media and corporate requests for Paul to take a crack at everything from stock price movements to national elections.

More ominously, the Spanish town of Carballiño asked to borrow Paul for a few days during a major food festival.

More on news: http://www.thelocal.de/

Credits to and source taken from: http://www.thelocal.de/

Octopus picks Spain; bird picks Holland

More news on: http://www.dailychilli.com/


Mani picking up a card with the flag of the Netherlands in Singapore's Little India neighborhood as his owner, fortune-teller M. Muniyappan looks on
source: http://www.dailychilli.com/

Which would you believe? Paul the 'psychic' octopus in Germany that has predicted correctly - and very publicly - so far this World Cup or a parakeet in Singapore that has a questionable track record?

Paul the psychic octopus has predicted Spain will beat Holland and win World Cup 2010 while Germany shall be triumphant in the third and fourth place play-off, www.telegraph.co.uk reported.

Paul the psychic octopus has predicted all of Germany's results correctly even including the defeats against Serbia in the group stages and Spain in the semi-finals.

Over in Singapore, AP reported that Mani crept out its his small wooden cage and had to choose between two white cards - one hiding the flag of the Netherlands, the other Spain.

If the bird's many new believers are right, Holland will win its first World Cup championship Sunday.

Mani grabbed a card in his beak Friday and flipped it over to reveal the Dutch flag.

The 13-year-old parakeet has become a local celebrity after its owner, M. Muniyappan, claimed Mani accurately forecast the World Cup's four quarterfinal games and Spain's semifinal victory over Germany.
"He's a special bird," Muniyappan said.

Muniyappan, an 80-year-old fortuneteller, said Mani has helped him predict the future for five years at a table in front of a restaurant in Singapore's Little India neighborhood, but this year's World Cup is the first time the parakeet has attempted to forecast the outcome of sports competitions.

"People usually want help picking the lottery numbers, or when to get married," said Muniyappan, who was born in India and moved to Singapore in 1953. "Then gamblers started asking about the World Cup."

However, Mani's 'correct' predictions for the World Cup were never publicised while millions of footie fans have seen Paul the octopus picking the winner on YouTube, blogs, television and newspapers. Paul had also worked as a psychic during the Euro championship two years ago when it famously made a wrong prediction by picking Germany to beat Spain.

Since correctly predicting Spain's victory over Joachim Low's team in the World Cup semifinal, Paul has been on the receiving end of a backlash from Germany fans with many of them threatening to chop it up and cook it for a delicious seafood meal.

It is unclear if Paul's prediction that Germany will beat Uruguay for third place in the World Cup has calmed down its German detractors.

However Paul has got support in the unlikely form of Sanish Prime Minister Jose Luiz Rodriguez Zapatero who has joked he will provide Paul with a team of bodyguards.

Zapatero said: "I am concerned for the octopus. I am thinking of sending him a protective team."

Spanish environment and fisheries minister Elena Espinosa has also sworn to protect the octopus.

"On Monday, I shall be at the European Council of Ministers and I shall be asking for a (fishing) ban on Paul the octopus so the Germans do not eat him," Espinosa said.

Published July 9 2010

Do click here for Paul the Octopus prediction: Octopus Paul Allen predictions for the FIFA World Cup 2010 finals:Spain to win





List of predictions

List of predictions for Germany & other teams

Teams	Flags	Tournament	Stage	Date	Paul's prediction	Result
Netherlands vs. Spain	-	World Cup 2010	final	2010-07-09 !9 July 2010	Spain[20]

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL ON JULY 11, 2010

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

26 June – Port Elizabeth

Uruguay

2

2 July – Johannesburg

Korea Republic

1

Uruguay (pen.)

1 (4)

26 June – Rustenburg

Ghana

1 (2)

United States

1

6 July – Cape Town

Ghana (a.e.t.)

2

Uruguay

2

28 June – Durban

Netherlands

3

Netherlands

2

2 July – Port Elizabeth

Slovakia

1

Netherlands

2

28 June – Johannesburg

Brazil

1

Brazil

3

11 July – Johannesburg

Chile

0

Netherlands

27 June – Johannesburg

Spain

Argentina

3

3 July – Cape Town

Mexico

1

Argentina

0

27 June – Bloemfontein

Germany

4

Germany

4

7 July – Durban

England

1

Germany

0

29 June – Pretoria

Spain

1

Third place

Paraguay (pen.)

0 (5)

3 July – Johannesburg

10 July – Port Elizabeth

Japan

0 (3)

Paraguay

0

Uruguay

29 June – Cape Town

Spain

1

Germany

Spain

1

Portugal

0

Semi-finals

6 July 2010 20:30	Uruguay	2 – 3	Netherlands	Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town Attendance: 62,479 Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
	Forlán 41' M. Pereira 90+2'	Report	Van Bronckhorst 18' Sneijder 70' Robben 73'

7 July 2010 20:30	Germany	0 – 1	Spain	Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban Attendance: 60,960 Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
		Report	Puyol 73'

Third place

10 July 2010 20:30	Uruguay	v	Germany	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Final

This will be the first final since 1978 in which neither side has previously won the World Cup. Netherlands and Spain are the only teams to have won all their qualification matches for the 2010 World Cup, with the Netherlands also winning all games on their way to the final.

11 July 2010 20:30	Netherlands	v	Spain	Soccer City, Johannesburg