Soccerpredictions are mainly followed by people betting on soccer matches, and want
to make a sure bet so that their profit is ensured. Many people as well as
complex algorithms are used as aids to make these predictions. Sometimes, even
animals are used. One such example was Paul the Octopus.
Paul
the Octopus was a common octopus which was hatched from an egg at the Sea World
Centre at Weymouth, England, and lived from January 2008 to October 2010 at the
Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany, and predicted the outcomes of football
matches. Several accurate predictions made during the 2010 World Cup brought
him under the spotlight as an animal oracle. Before the prediction was to be
made, Paul would be presented with two boxes containing food, and the boxes
were decorated with the team flags of the competing teams of an upcoming match.
The box from which Paul ate, would be considered as the prediction for that
match. He was entrusted mainly with predicting the outcomes of international
matches the German team was playing.
Not
only did Paul successfully predict the outcomes of several of the six matches
Germany played in the 2008 Euro, but also all of their seven matches in the
2010 World Cup. After this, his success rate rose to 85 percent, with a record
of 11 out of 13 correct predictions. Paul also foresaw Spain’s win over the
Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup Final. He did so by eating a mussel from the
box which bore the Spanish flag.
Several theories proposed by experts, which explained
Paul’s behavior ranged from pure luck to him being attracted to the smell or
appearance of a particular box over the other. Paul passed away on October 26th,
2010. The lifespan, though normal for his species, is very small compared to
ours. Yet, the little creature had left its mark in the world of soccerpredictions
