Paul the octopus, who shot to fame during the football World Cup
last year for his flawless record in predicting the outcome of
games, will get a shrine to mark three months since he died, his
aquarium said Monday. psychic.
The tentacled tipster will on Thursday be honoured with a "Paul
Corner" at his former home, containing his ashes and a "huge
memorial," the centre in western Germany said.
"There will be a statue around 1.80 metres high (six feet) of
Paul, on top of a football, in the middle of which will be a
see-through window with the golden urn containing Paul's ashes,"
spokeswoman Tanja Munzig told AFP.
Paul thrilled punters and cost bookmakers a small fortune during
the World Cup in South Africa in June and July by defying the odds
to tip correctly seven German matches and Spain's 1-0 triumph
against the Netherlands in the final.
For the prediction, two boxes were lowered into the salty
soothsayer's tank, each containing a mussel and the flag of the two
opposing teams.
Watched by a myriad of reporters, Paul would head to one box,
wrench open the lid and gobble the tasty morsel, with the box he
plumped for being deemed the likely winner.
His astonishing ability made him a global media phenomenon. His
later predictions were carried live on rolling news channels in
Germany.
He died peacefully in his sleep aged nearly three in October,
sparking hundreds of messages of condolence from his Facebook fan
club, whose ranks have more than tripled since his death to
200,000.
The aquarium unveiled a replacement, French octopus named Paul
II, on November 3.
The new cephalopod has not yet been tested on the field of play
although speculation is rife that he could be wheeled out for the
next European championship, in Ukraine and Poland in 2012.