World Cup football fans in Spain are rejoicing after an octopus—named Paul—has predicted the that Spain will win the World Cup. Paul the Octopus has correctly predicted the team to win every World Cup game involving Germany—and also predicts that the German team will beat Uruguay in the match for third place.
Spain watched Paul the Octopus make his final prediction for the World Cup games—the octopus’ prediction appearing live on television.
The eight-legged Paul had two boxes on which to base his prediction: one Plexiglas box marked with a flag from the Netherlands, the other possessing a flag of Spain. Paul chose the red and yellow box of Spain.
Customers at a bar in Spain were joyous with the octopus’ prediction: the bar owner saying that Paul the Octopus has always been right so far--and hopes he's right again.
Paul normally resides in an aquarium located in western Germany. The octopus became an overnight celebrity—after correctly predicting all six of Germany's World Cup football games. Germany’s only got one World Cup game remaining--against Uruguay. Paul the Octopus is betting the European country will win, to take third place in the World Cup tournament.
Rupert Adams, employed by William Hill--one of Britain's largest bookmakers--says the octopus's prediction success rate is outstanding.
"If you had had ten pounds on each and every prediction then re-invested your winnings you would currently have over 1,450 pounds," said Adams. "It's an astonishing feat to get six predictions in a row. I am told people are walking into our shops and saying 'I will have what the Octopus predicted.'"
Paul’s not the only animal making predictions on the World Cup —just the only underwater variety. Mani the Parakeet, age 13, calls Singapore his home—the parakeet’s owner claims the parakeet has correctly predicted the World Cup's four quarter-final football games and also Spain's semi-final World Cup win over Germany.
Mani the Parakeet and Paul the Octopus don’t agree on the World Cup winner: Mani predicts that the Netherlands --not Spain--will win the final in the World Cup football games. Mani's fans in Singapore claim his prediction is the correct one.
"Definitely he [Mani] will be right [about his World Cup team win], that is going to be because before it happened it was right," said a Mani fan. "So we are also believing, he [Mani the Parakeet] is also most [believable], so we are also believing that it will definitely be good."