Germany v Spain: Psychic octopus Paul unfazed by death threats, says keeper

Germany v Spain: Psychic octopus Paul unfazed by death threats, says keeper

www.telegraph.co.uk

Paul the psychic octopus is one of the unlikely stars of World Cup 2010 but his ability to correctly forecast the outcome of Germany's matches threatens to land him in hot water.

Having accurately predicted that Germany would beat Argentina... Paul faced the wrath of angry Argentinian supporters who have blamed the octopus for their World Cup exit and expressed a desire to eat him in an act of vengeance.

...so far Paul has a 100 per cent success rate for all five of Germany's fixtures...

(visit the link for the full news article)



Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
'Psychic' octopus predicts German victory over England!

Have you heard of the psychic octopus yet? If you haven't you surely will (and not just in this thread).

He just goes on and on correctly predicting Germany's results. A previous thread was created in response to his 100% record in the group stages of the World Cup, and his prediction Germany would thereafter defeat England. Not only did he get that right, he went on to predict Germany's defeat of Argentina!

A couple of days ago it emerged that live on German TV 'Paul' decided Spain would defeat Germany in the semi final. The above article, written earlier today assumed he must have got it wrong. But NO — the game finished just minutes ago, and Spain won 1-0!

What do you make of this remarkable creature? We need explanations...



www.telegraph.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Maybe the Pastafarians had the wrong noodley appendaged deity.

Or maybe he's the Anti-Pasta.

Sorry, couldn't resist. I actually have been following this and am kicking myself that I didn't place a wager.

Will be amazing if he picks the final as well!

Yeah, this is some funny stuff. I was reading about this and chuckling yesterday. The Argentinians want to cook and eat the thing now.

The octopus makes its decision by crawiling into one of two boxes. Each box is marked with a flag (for example, one for Germany and one for Argentina), and the flag on the box he chooses supposedly is that of the winner.

How about this idea?: The owner puts food in one box, the octopus crawls into it, he takes a video. Then he does the exact same thing with the other box. So now we have two videos, one of the octopus crawling into each box. The owner then releases the "correct prediction" after the victory and destroys the other vid.

Or are the predictions released before the games? If so, that's much harder to explain, but the owner could still be doing the same as described above and making the decision for himself.




[edit on 7/7/10 by silent thunder]

reply to post by lellomackin


Possibly the greatest dead-cert bet in all of history (going on current form).



reply to post by silent thunder


The creature predicts the results days in advance. The prediction for today's game went out live on German TV a couple of days ago (much to the chagrin of the nation!)

Apparently predictions were released before the games. Wonder what will happen if the bookies find out Paul's prediction of the Final.

I think that this is something everyone should try. Does not have to be an octopus. You could use any type of pet - dog, cat , fish, rabbit. I bet there will be amazing results.

I will be trying it with a spider, if I can find one !

So, game is over... Spain won 0:1! Octopussy was right again!

reply to post by JimIrie


Not a single TV commentator on mega-bucks has a record this accurate!

(Can you imagine what the broadcasters might be willing to pay to have the tank in the studio in future?..)

Now here we have two of my favorite friends (you know who you are) talking about an octopus getting into some sort of psychic state and predicting the future of a sporting event.

It's okay. I'll still respect you in the morning.

4 words for this story

Leave the octopus Alone!!


Please Dont eat him

I saw a story about Paul the octopus this morning on TV. I got a bit of a chuckle from it. The anchorwoman threw a damper on things though when she said that back in 2008, he predicted that Germany would beat Spain in the European Championship, which ended up being wrong. (Maybe he chose Spain this time because he learned his lesson? )

It is pretty uncanny though that the octopus has correctly predicted the winner in all five of Germany's games though.

[edit on 7/7/2010 by octotom]

Paul isnt going to live very long, so his career is almost over.

en.wikipedia.org...

Octopuses have a relatively short life expectancy, and some species live for as little as six months. Larger species, such as the North Pacific Giant Octopus, may live for up to five years under suitable circumstances.

So get your bets in while you can.

Before the game I was pessimistic but now I am a believer and follower of the eight-legged Messiah. I am your most faithful servant O Holy Almighty Octopus !

I purposely bet against Paul's prediction with Spain vs Germany and I can't believe he was right again. I wonder if people are coming to Paul to predict other future events.

reply to post by lostinspace


It all hinges on the final: they just announced on the radio Paul has gone for Spain in the final against Holland.

If they know what's good for them the Dutch might as well not bother turning up.

Of course the octopus would know!

it has 8 fregen legs/tentacles for cryin out loud!

can you imagine one playing soccer? 8 legs vs 2?

hahaha

reply to post by ugie1028




[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/4ffc62ad8afe.jpg[/atsimg]

I have a dumb theory but I believe the octopus is being attracted to the most reddish-darkest flags and not those with brightest colors. But, to be honest, the subject is not keeping me up at nights, lol.

That damn octopuss got it right again.
I'll be damned.

Cthulhu fhtagn! Paul clearly has the powers from the deep. To bad he couldn't have predicted a more exciting game to watch. He is now the most famous O. vulgaris to have crawled from the dark bowels of the Ocean.