Tip from the deep
June 26, 2010
A sea creature famed for predicting football results has tipped Germany to beat England in Sunday's eagerly anticipated World Cup showdown.
Paul the Octopus, who lives at the Sea Life aquarium in the German city of Oberhausen, has been making waves with his successful predictions of the outcomes of all of Germany's group-stage matches in South Africa.
In his latest test, Paul was offered the choice of two plastic boxes containing food - one adorned with England's St. George flag, the other with a German flag.
Paul moved quickly to open the box with the Germany flag, to the delight of spectators, and the selection was reported in news broadcasts across Germany.
"Paul went rather quickly for the Germany flag," said Sea Life spokeswoman Tanja Munzig. "He's got a 100-percent average in the World Cup so far.”
Winning record
Paul's keepers said that the octopod, using the same method, had already predicted Germany's group-stage wins over Australia and Ghana as well as the national side's loss to Serbia.
During the football European Championships in 2008, they said, Paul picked the winning side in 80 percent of German games.
England fans might have reason to feel aggrieved at the latest decision reached by the octopus.
Paul was, in fact, born a little over two years ago in the English seaside town of Weymouth.
Author: Richard Connor (Reuters/AP/AFP)
Editor: Kyle James