Octopus Paul is retiring from the oracle business and will not give any more oracle predictions. He will be getting back to do what he likes best: play with his handlers and making children laugh.

The psychic cephalopod became a global sensation and the star of FIFA World Cup 2010 by correctly predicting the result of every Germany game at the World Cup. He signed off with a perfect eight out of eight record by picking Spain to beat the Netherlands in the final.

Paul took one last curtain call on Monday when aquarium employees at the Oberhausen Sea Life presented the octopus with a golden cup – similar to the official World Cup trophy. Although the cup was garnished with three mussels, Paul ignored it for several minutes as it was lowered into his tank. He finally picked off one mussel and devoured it in front of television cameras.

Octopus with a world cup trophy

Never in sporting history has such a wacky thing happened. Octopus Paul now has a Facebook page and millions of fans and followers all over the world. FIFA World Cup 2010 will always be remembered as the Octopus Paul�s World Cup. Paul became a talisman for gamblers, with bookmakers William Hill claiming the octopus’s forecasts cost them �500,000 as punters flocked to follow his advice. Bookmakers, marketing experts and brokers around the world have offered large sums of money for the octopus.

For those who have been hoping that Octopus Paul will still be around to liven up FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 to be held in Brazil, you are in for a sad surprise. Even if Paul does not retire from his oracle business, he will be long gone by the time the next world cup comes around.

Brazil FIFA World Cup 2014 Logo

Octopuses have a relatively short life expectancy, and some species live for as little as six months. Most species may live for three to five years. Reproduction is a cause of death: males can only live for a few months after mating, and females die shortly after their eggs hatch. They neglect to eat during the (roughly) one month period spent taking care of their unhatched eggs, but they don’t die of starvation. Endocrine secretions from the two optic glands are the cause of genetically programmed death (and if these glands are surgically removed, the octopus may live many months beyond reproduction, until she finally starves).

Once the octopus reaches adulthood, it will eventually get the urge to mate. As with most creatures, the octopus’s main purpose in life is to reproduce. If it knew just what was waiting for it soon after, it might think twice about mating. Both the male and female octopuses die soon after mating. The male dies a few months afterwards, while female dies shortly after the eggs hatch. If this is what happens to human beings too, I can’t imagine how life would be like, haha!

Octopus mating game

A male octopus's hectocotylus, or mating arm (with pink lining), is inserted into the female's mantle.

Paul is about two and a half years old now so it is a certainty that he will not live to see the next world cup. But if Paul (poor Paul, lol!) does not have the chance to mate in the aquarium, will he live to see the next world cup?� I don’t have the answer to that…you will have to ask marine biologists.

The worldwide frenzy over Octopus Paul may spawn a rash of octopus products such as toys, jewelry, fashions and movies.� Hmmmm…maybe we will� be seeing movies like “Octopus Story”, “The Octopus Strikes Back”, “Lord of the Octopus”, “Octopus Man” and “Octopus of the Carribean” hitting the cinemas soon.

Octopus fashion

Octopus kiddy fashion

Octopus hat

Octopus brooch

Octopus toy

Octopus bag

But one thing is certain. The Oberhausen Sea Life Aquarium in Germany will definitely be seeing huge throngs of visitors queuing up to see Paul in the coming months. Paul, may you enjoy your retirement and may you bask in your World Cup glory!

Octopus Paul proved yet again why he has been accorded the title of Oracle Paul when his choice for the Germany-Uruguay match lived up to his prediction. Germany beat Uruguay 3-2 after coming from behind in a pulsating match in Port Elizabeth to secure third place for the second successive World Cup.

Germany’s midfielder Sami Khedira headed in the winning goal in the game that saw both Thomas Muller and Diego Forlan move onto five goals for the tournament.

Sami Khedira's Winning Header Goal (photo taken from ESPN Soccernet)

With his prediction materialising yet again, Paul has thus continued to maintain a 100% correct record in his predictions for this World Cup. It could be pure fluke but there is no doubt that Paul has undeniably become the star of this world cup tournament. The most intriguing question now is whether Paul will again be right in his prediction for the Spain-Holland final. Will Spain really lift the FIFA World Cup 2010 championship trophy as predicted by Paul?� The whole world waits with bated breath!

Oh gosh, what a fantastic start to my day! I woke up a short while ago and upon checking my blog traffic, I was both thrilled and amazed at the huge amount of traffic my blog has been receiving since I posted my last blog entry “Paul Predicts Spain Will Be The World Cup 2010 Champion“. And the reason for the huge amount of traffic is due to that blog article of mine being prominently featured on Canada’ s national daily The Globe And Mail website. To Oracle Paul…Octopus Paul…or Der Titenfisch Paul Oktopus….whatever they call you, many thanks for being such an inspiration!

Canada's The Globe And Mail

To the people at The Globe And Mail, I wish to extend my sincere thanks for what you did. And it makes me even more nostalgic about Canada now.

It appears that some German fans are lacking a sense of humour. The keepers at the Oberhausen, Germany aquarium where Paul resides have received death threats and octopus recipes after Germany was knocked out by Spain on Wednesday. And Germans aren�t the only ones incensed at Paul. Angry Argentinian fans blamed him for Argentina�s embarrassing 0-4 defeat by Germany and threatened to eat him to avenge his prediction. Paul�s handlers are stoically undeterred by the threats.

Paul�s keeper in Oberhausen, Germany said �there are always people who want to eat our octopus but he is not shy and we are here to protect him as well. He will survive.�

Paul hatched from an egg in an aquarium at Sea Life Weymouth in Weymouth, England but is now residing in an aquarium at the Sea Life Oberhausen in Oberhausen, Germany. His name Paul is based on the title of a poem by the German writer Boy Lomsen: Der Tintenfisch Paul Oktopus.

This is where Paul resides.

According to statements from Sea Life’s entertainment director, Daniel Fey, Paul showed his intelligence early on: “There was something about the way he looked at our visitors when they came close to the tank. It was so unusual, so we tried to find out what his special talents were.�

During the UEFA Euro 2008, Paul made his debut in predicting soccer match results. He was correct in 70% of the predictions that he made but he was wrong in his prediction of the winner of the final match which saw Germany pitted against Spain. Paul predicted a win for Germany but Spain emerged from the match as champion.

After that successful run of picks in Euro 2008, Paul is on fire again but with an even better track record this time, correctly predicting the outcomes of all the six matches that Germany had so far played in this World Cup 2010. Fans of Spain and the Netherlands will no doubt be anxious to see what Paul�s prediction will be for the final. Presuming, that is, his handlers aren�t too bummed out by their team�s defeat to make him pick between two non-German nations. So the question on every one’s mind now is this: Will Paul be predicting the outcome of the Spain-Netherlands final?

If you have placed your faith in Paul and have bet on all the 6 matches that he had made predictions for, you would have been laughing all the way to the bank now. And if Paul himself has bet on his own predictions, this is how he would look like now.

Octopus Paul With His Winnings

With the fame that Paul has attained in this World Cup, I would not be surprised if this year’s top selling Christmas toy is an Octopus� blowing a South Africa 2010 vuvuzela! Hey, China toy makers, take note, there is a fortune to be made here!