Weather predicting ground hogs, and now psychic octopuses? What we humans won't do for entertainment... at least I hope that's all that's expected from the world's latest animal phenomenon.
I thought I'd heard it all when I learned there are people out there who chew on pig spleens to gauge how the weather forecast, but maybe this idea takes the cake.
As tension peaks over the outcome of the World Cup Soccer Finals, at least one "being" isn't overly concerned - and it happens to be an octopus who seems to already know how things will pan out.
Paul the octopus - considered a psychic cephalopod at Sea Life in Oberhausen, western Germany - has become world renowned after correctly predicting the victors in all five of Germany's matches to date.
Sea Life staff help Paul make his predictions by lowering two boxes of food into his tank, one carrying a German flag and the other bearing that of their opponents. The case he opens first is adjudged to be his predicted winner.
And people appear to be paying attention to the outcome. Paul's most recent prediction was televised live with the results now plastered online and getting a lot of response.
???This week the clairvoyant creature has the German population up in arms. On Tuesday, after initially lingering over the box for the German flag, he opted for the Spanish flag instead, meaning Spain will take top honors in the semi-finals.
???But apparently believers shouldn't "bet the farm" on the outcome. According to the stats, the octopus only managed an 80 per cent success rate in predicting Germany's results at the 2008 European Championships. He also failed to foresee Spain's 1-0 win over Germany in the final.
Too funny... but imagine if there really was more to the concept than pure entertainment?
Hmmm... I'm not sure who came with the idea of sticking flags into an octopus aquarium to predict the outcome of a soccer game, or who thought up the ground hog shadow concept, but is there anyone out there who knows of an animal that can score a win on the lotto? This week's Lotto Max jackpot is an estimated $43 million and there's still time yet to buy tickets before the draw!
