BERLIN - Football fans across Germany will be hoping a
"psychic" cephalopod's fabled skills of prophecy have failed him
after Paul the octopus predicted a German loss in their World Cup
semi-final with Spain.
With a 100 percent record so far, the British-born aquarium
dweller at Sea Life in Oberhausen, western Germany has become a
celebrity having correctly predicted a series of German wins and
even Germany's surprise group stage loss to Serbia.
On Tuesday, Paul once again was given the choice of picking food
from two different plastic containers lowered into his tank - one
decorated with a Spanish flag and one with a German flag.
The container which Paul opens first is seen as his pick.
He settled on both containers at first in a sign of hesitation
before opening the box with the Spanish flag.
The decision was broadcast live on several news channels in
Germany, although commentators immediately cast doubt over the
prediction by Paul, who was born in Weymouth, England.
While Paul has been faultless at the World Cup so far, he is not
infallible - at Euro 2008 he incorrectly picked Germany as the
victor against Spain.
