Paul the Octopus Dead

Paul the Octopus (reportedly hatched January 2008; died 26 October 2010) was a common octopus from Weymouth, England, who lived in a tank at a Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany.Paul became internationally famous for correctly selecting a box of food marked with the national flag of the winner of each Germany's seven matches at the 2010 World Cup, as well as the final.

Paul's predictions were designed so that he was presented with two boxes containing food in the form of a mussel, each box marked on the outside with the flag of a national football team in an upcoming match. His choice of which mussel to eat first was taken as indicating his prediction of a win for the country whose flag was on that box. These predictions were correct in four of Germany's six Euro 2008 matches, and in all seven of their matches in the 2010 World Cup. He also correctly predicted a win for Spain against the Netherlands in the World Cup Final on 11 July by eating the mussel in the box with the Spanish flag on it. His "predictions" were 100% (8/8) correct for the 2010 World Cup and 86% (12/14) correct overall. However, the keeper at the aquarium states that Paul was not the same octopus that predicted the results for the 2008 UEFA European Football Championships. Paul was retired after the 2010 FIFA World Cup.