Paul the Octopus

octopus said to predict the results of association football matches

AI overview

Paul the Octopus was a sea creature that became famous for apparently predicting the outcomes of association football (soccer) matches by choosing between different food options. The octopus gained widespread attention during the 2010 FIFA World Cup when its predictions were widely publicized and followed by media and fans around the world.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Gender: male organism
Place of birth: Weymouth
Place of death: Oberhausen
Occupation: Internet celebrity
Sport: association football
Image: Oktopus-Orakel Paul mit Schuh.JPG

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individual of taxon: common octopus
name in native language: Paul
Commons category: Paul the Octopus
date of death: 2010-10-26
date of birth: 2008-01-26

Sources (2)

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Encyclopedic overview

Paul the Octopus (26 January 2008 – 26 October 2010) was a common octopus who predicted the results of international association football matches. Accurate predictions in the 2010 World Cup brought him worldwide attention as an animal oracle.

During divinations, Paul's keepers would present him with two food-containing boxes decorated with the flags of the teams in an upcoming match. Whichever box Paul ate from first was considered his prediction for which team would win the match.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Paul the Octopus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.