The real star of the 2010 World Cup didn't even have feet, a deficit he more than made up for with his eight arms. Paul, an Octopus vulgaris from Weymouth, England, who lived at an aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, had an uncanny knack for predicting the winning team.
During the World Cup, when presented a pair of boxes, each containing a mussel and marked with the flag of a national soccer team, Paul would open the box of the winning team first. He did this eight times in a row, correctly "predicting" the winner of each of Germany's seven matches, as well as the outcome of the final match. The odds of achieving the same thing with a coin toss are one in 256.
Theories abounded. Some believed that Paul was attracted to the shapes of the flags (octopuses are colorblind), or that there were differences in the preparation of food. Others believed that Paul was psychic.
And others seemed to be under the impression that Paul was not just predicting the outcomes of the games, but somehow telekinetically causing them. Hence the death threats against the prognosticating cephalopod from Argentina after Paul accurately predicted Germany's win over La Albiceleste, and those from Germany after Paul predicted the country's loss to Spain.
What we learned: Even if you are psychic, it might be best to keep your predictions to yourself.
