Paul the Octopus facts for kids
Paul, next to a football boot with the German flag colours, in his tank
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| Other name(s) | Paul Oktopus, Die Krake Paul |
|---|---|
| Species | Octopus vulgaris |
| Sex | Male |
| Hatched | 26 January 2008 Weymouth, England |
| Died | 26 October 2010 (aged 2) Oberhausen, Germany |
| Known for | Successfully predicting results of football matches |
| Owner | Sea Life Centres |
| Named after | Der Tintenfisch Paul Oktopus – poem by Boy Lornsen |
Paul the Octopus (born January 26, 2008 – died October 26, 2010) was a common octopus who became famous for predicting the winners of international football matches. He gained worldwide attention as an animal oracle during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Paul lived at the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany. His keepers would offer him two boxes, each with food and a flag of one of the teams playing. The box Paul chose first was his prediction for the winning team. He became very well-known for his accurate guesses.
Paul correctly picked the winning team in four out of six of Germany's matches in the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. He then correctly predicted all seven of Germany's matches in the 2010 World Cup. This included Germany's win for third place against Uruguay. He also correctly chose Spain to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup final. In total, Paul made 12 correct predictions out of 14, which is about an 85.7% success rate!
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Paul's Life
Paul was born from an egg at the Sea Life Centre in Weymouth, England. He later moved to a tank at the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany. His name came from a poem by a German children's writer, Boy Lornsen, called Der Tintenfisch Paul Oktopus. Tintenfisch means octopus in German.
According to Daniel Fey, who was in charge of entertainment at Sea Life, Paul showed he was smart from a young age. He said Paul looked at visitors in a special way. This made them want to find out what his unique talents were.
The animal rights group PETA said that octopuses are very intelligent animals. They have complex thoughts, good memories, and different personalities. PETA also said octopuses can use tools and learn by watching. They felt it was not right to keep Paul in a tank all the time. However, Sea Life Centres explained that it would be dangerous to let Paul go free. This was because he was born in captivity and did not know how to find food for himself in the wild.
After Paul became famous, some business people in Spain wanted to buy him for a festival. They even collected about €30,000 for him! They promised Paul would be shown alive in a tank, not as food. But Sea Life said no to their offer.
Paul was last checked by staff on October 25, 2010, and seemed healthy. But the next morning, he was found dead. He was two and a half years old, which is a normal lifespan for his kind of octopus.
How Paul Predicted Matches
Paul's job as a predictor started during the UEFA Euro 2008 football tournament. Before Germany's international matches, Paul was given two clear plastic boxes. Each box had food inside, like a mussel or an oyster. Each box also had the flag of one of the teams playing. One box had the German flag, and the other had the flag of Germany's opponent.
The box that Paul opened first and ate from was chosen as his prediction for the winning team. Paul could not pick a draw (a tie), even though that can happen in group stage matches.
Some people wondered if the different flag designs might have affected Paul's choices. However, octopuses like Paul are thought to be colour blind. Others wondered if he might have chosen boxes based on how they smelled.
Paul's Prediction Record
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UEFA Euro 2008 Predictions
In the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament, Paul predicted Germany would win all their games. He was right for 4 out of 6 matches. He was wrong when Germany lost to Croatia in the group stage and to Spain in the final.
| Germany's opponent | Stage | Date | Prediction | Result | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Poland |
group stage | 8 June 2008 | Germany | 2–0 | Correct |
 Croatia |
group stage | 12 June 2008 | Germany | 1–2 | Incorrect |
 Austria |
group stage | 16 June 2008 | Germany | 1–0 | Correct |
 Portugal |
quarter-finals | 19 June 2008 | Germany | 3–2 | Correct |
 Turkey |
semi-finals | 25 June 2008 | Germany | 3–2 | Correct |
 Spain |
final | 29 June 2008 | Germany | 0–1 | Incorrect |
2010 FIFA World Cup Predictions
Paul's correct predictions for the 2010 World Cup made him a huge celebrity. German news even showed his predictions live! Paul correctly picked the winners of all seven matches that the German team played. These were against Australia, Serbia, Ghana, England, Argentina, Spain, and Uruguay. He also correctly picked Spain to win the final match against the Netherlands.
When Paul predicted that Argentina would lose, an Argentine chef joked about cooking an octopus. Paul's prediction that Spain would beat Germany in the semi-finals made some German fans very upset. They even called for Paul to be eaten! In response, the Prime Minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, offered to send Paul official protection. Spain's Industry Minister, Miguel Sebastian, even suggested Paul should be given a safe home in Spain.
The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, criticized Paul. He said Paul was a sign of Western problems. He felt that leaders of nations should not believe in such things.
Some people also wondered if the "Paul" in 2010 was actually the same octopus from 2008.
| Match | Stage | Date | Prediction | Result | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Germany vs.  Australia |
group stage | 13 June 2010 | Germany | 4–0 | Correct |
Germany vs.  Serbia |
group stage | 18 June 2010 | Serbia | 0–1 | Correct |
 Ghana vs. Germany |
group stage | 23 June 2010 | Germany | 0–1 | Correct |
Germany vs.  England |
round of 16 | 27 June 2010 | Germany | 4–1 | Correct |
 Argentina vs. Germany |
quarter-finals | 3 July 2010 | Germany | 0–4 | Correct |
| Germany vs. Spain |
semi-finals | 7 July 2010 | Spain | 0–1 | Correct |
 Uruguay vs. Germany |
3rd place play-off | 10 July 2010 | Germany | 2–3 | Correct |
 Netherlands vs. Spain |
final | 11 July 2010 | Spain | 0–1 | Correct |
Other Animal Predictors
Paul wasn't the only animal trying to predict football games! Other animals in Germany also tried, but they weren't as successful. For example, animals at the Chemnitz Zoo were wrong about all of Germany's group-stage games.
Mani the parakeet from Singapore also became famous. He correctly predicted all four quarter-final matches in the World Cup. Mani disagreed with Paul about the final, picking the Netherlands to win. This led to some news stories calling the game an "octopus-versus-parakeet showdown."
Sadly, Rabio the Octopus, who correctly predicted all of Japan’s group stage games at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, was caught by a Japanese fisherman and sold.
Paul's Legacy
Paul the Octopus became so famous that he was remembered in different ways:
- In 2010, a mobile app called "Ask the Octopus" was created for iPhones.
- A Chinese thriller movie from 2010, Kill Octopus Paul, showed Paul's predictions as part of a match-fixing plan.
- Paul was featured in a Google Doodle during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. A Google Doodle is a special, temporary change to the Google logo. He was shown in heaven with a halo, making predictions for the day's matches. He appeared again in the doodle for the 2014 World Cup final.
See also
In Spanish: Pulpo Paul para niños
