Germany’s oracle octopus Paul picked Spain to beat the Netherlands in Sunday night’s World Cup final in a live television broadcast watched across Europe.
The two-year-old celebrity octopus, who has accurately picked the outcome of all six of Germany’s World Cup matches so far, quickly tipped Spain to beat the Netherlands. It took him only three minutes to make up his mind.
“That was fast — it looks like a clear-cut victory for Spain,” said Tanja Munzig, spokeswoman for Sea Life in Oberhausen. She was surprised by his speed in picking Spain. For some matches it took Paul 70 minutes to decide.
The octopus, considered by some to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates, got the choice of picking food from two different transparent containers lowered into his tank — one with a Dutch flag on it and one with a Spanish flag.
Reaction in Spain was swift, with the country’s biggest selling sports daily website Marca.com running the headline: “The octopus Paul makes us champions”.
The container Paul opens first is regarded as his pick. On Friday he wasted no time in diving for the container on the right side with the Spanish flag on it. Television networks in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe broadcast Paul’s decision live.
Earlier Friday, Germans heaved a sigh of relief when Paul tipped Germany to beat Uruguay in the World Cup match for third place, and cheers broke out in offices across the country.
—Reuters