A year ago
For those who are unfamiliar with Paul the Octopus, he was a common octopus who was used to predict the outcomes of international football matches many years ago.
His keepers at the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany, primarily tasked him with predicting the outcomes of international matches in which the German team was competing, and his career as an oracle began during the 2008 UEFA Euro tournament.
Paul would be given two clear plastic boxes containing food, each containing a mussel or an oyster, in the run-up to Germany's matches. Each container was labeled with a team's flag, one for Germany and the other for Germany's opponent.The winner of the match was determined by the box Paul opened first (and ate its contents).
Paul the Octopus rose to prominence as an animal oracle during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. His correct tournament picks were even broadcast live by German news channel n-tv, earning him celebrity status.
The animal correctly predicted the outcome of each of the German team's seven 2010 FIFA World Cup matches — against Australia, Serbia, Ghana, England, Argentina, Spain, and Uruguay — as well as the tournament's Netherlands vs. Spain final.Unfortunately for the world of football, which could use Paul the Octopus' excellent predictions ahead of the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup final between France and Argentina, the great match predictor died a few months after the 2010 final.
Paul was last checked by staff on October 25, 2010, and was in good health, but he died the next morning. He was two and a half years old, a typical lifespan for the species.
"It's a sad day," said his agent, Chris Davies. Paul was rather special but we managed to film Paul before he left this mortal earth". Sea Life Centre manager Stefan Porwoll remembered Paul as an octopus who had "enthused people across every continent.
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