The Many Leg-acies of Paul the Octopus



"Right here he predicts the double-dip recession of 2012 and President Palin's invasion of Russia!"

The number one story on the BBC news website earlier this evening was Paul the Octopus dies in tank in Germany ahead of economic growth forecasts and an Indonesian tsunami.  However this serious news was later overtaken by news that Lady Gaga had beaten some other pop sensation to have the most views on YouTube ever.

Over 100 Indonesians die after an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra but we are transfixed by the unexpected death of a clever cephalopod who correctly predicted the outcome of 2010 World Cup matches.  However the odds of predicting seven matches is only 1/128 hardly the same as guessing the winning UK lottery numbers.  Nevertheless "he enjoyed a good life" according to the Oberhausen Sea Life centre manager and there is a documentary, books and toys planned for the Christmas market.

We can only imagine what his legacy will be amoungst his fellow molluscs.  Maybe he will be regarded as the Nostradamus of the underseaworld, or maybe his intelligence would not be regarded as that special by his peers who never got their 15 minutes infront of the cameras.