While I don’t pay much attention to the world of sports, I do pay attention when it appears clairvoyant cephalopods are gaining media traction. I am of course referring to Paul the psychic Octopus who, as of late, has correctly predicted everyone of the last eight games of the World Cup. According to the grand high wiki Paul is, “a common octopus living in a tank at a Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany, who is used as an animal oracle to predict the results of football matches, usually international matches in which Germany is playing.” 

Brief Aside: Make no mistake about it, Paul has his own wikipedia page. Somewhere in this, there is a social commentary on the current state of our world, the internet and the absurd level of obsessive informational recording we as human beings partake in. More importantly though is the deep emptiness you should feel, because, well you don’t have a wikipedia page, and “Paul” does.

Getting back to the matter at hand it is absolutely incredible that this invertebrate was right 8 out of 8 times.  Even more incredible is that he had absolutely no idea what he was guessing at.  Again I’m using the pronoun ‘he’ because his name is “Paul”. Though “Paul” is not without his errors, in 2008 he incorrectly predicted 2 out of 6 games, still amazing in my book.  

So in an open letter to the general public and those of you silly enough to have made it this far through these ramblings I will say the following. Let us forgive the fact that this Octopus is indeed a German Octopus. Regardless of “Paul’s” nationality there is one question he should be asked.  Will the World really End in 2012? I think the German’s owe us that much at least, don’t you? If there was one way to assuage or confirm the fears evoked by 5000 year old tablet we don’t really understand… I say let it be with the “Paul” the Psychic (German) Octopus.

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