Oracle Octopus Predicts World Cup Wins

by Annie Hartnett · 2010-07-08 12:00:00 UTC
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"I didn't realize you were such a soccer fan," my friend said as I frantically asked who won yesterday's World Cup match between Spain and Germany. "I could care less about soccer," I replied. "But I do care about the soothsayer octopus."

An octopus named Paul has been predicting World Cup match wins, and after correctly predicting the winner of yesterday's match, Paul's record is now an impressive six for six. The octopus is kept at Sea Life in Oberhausen, Germany, and he accurately predicted all four of Germany's victories, as well as their upset loss to Serbia, and yesterday's semifinals defeat to Spain. (Watch Paul in action as he picks Spain over his home country.) His predictions can be controversial — when he chose Germany over Argentina, he received death threats from a South American newspaper that published a recipe to put him in a paella.

Paul's keepers channel his oracle abilities by lowering two plastic boxes full of mussels, the octopus' food of choice, into his tank. Each box is marked on the outside, one with a German flag and the other with the opposing team's flag. The box of mussels that Paul opens first is his predicted winner.

Octopuses are extremely intelligent creatures. Studies have found that octopuses have an impressive memory, can identify individual humans, use tools, and solve mazes. Studies suggest that octopuses have distinct personalities. But none of this explains Paul's psychic abilities for predicting soccer matches.

It's an fascinating story, but PETA Germany is questioning whether Paul should be in captivity. PETA recently asked that Paul be released into waters off the south of France where fishing is banned. "Paul is stuck in a small aquarium ... We think that Paul would be fine in the sea," said a marine biologist from PETA.

Sea Life responded to PETA by stating that Paul cannot survive in the wild as he was born in captivity.

Octopuses have a short life span, with the largest species living about three years, and the smaller species living less than one year. Paul is already two years old, so this will likely be his only World Cup. The pressure's on as the whole world watches anxiously to see if the soothsayer octopus continues his perfect winning streak. Oh yeah, and I guess some people care about soccer too.

Photo Credit: YouTube

Annie Hartnett is a writer and animal advocate who has worked for several wildlife rehabilitation centers and environmental programs.

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