If you remember, during this year’s World Cub in South Africa, Paul “The Octopus” was said to be the World Cup Oracle. He correctly predicted the outcome of 8 World Cup Matches. There is sad news today though. Paul has passed away at the young age of 2 1/2 years.

Paul The Octopus was said to have been born in January of 2008, but other reports contradicted this. He lived in an aquarium tank at the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany. Paul predicted each of the 8 World Cup matches by choosing which mussels he wanted to eat. He was given 2 different boxes of mussels marked with the flag of the World Cup teams. The box he ate from first was the team that he was said to have predicted to win.

Before the World Cup, Paul also selected winners for Germany’s 6 Euro 2008 matches. He was not correct on all of th eEuro 2008 matches but he did get 4/6 right. After the 2010 World Cup Paul retired.

According to the aquarium staff, they are all quite devastated by the death of Paul. There will be a memorial created in honor of him.
“Management and staff of the Oberhausen Sea Life Aquarium were devastated when Paul was found dead this morning,” the staff at the aquarium said in a released statement.

Paul will be missed, but there is supposedly a Paul II waiting in the wings…. or tentacles.