Octopus oracle Paul's prescience wasn't needed to predict how this one would turn out: His aquarium in Germany on Friday gave a resounding "nein" to a bid to move the celebrity mollusk to Spain.
Paul rose from obscurity in Oberhausen's Sea Life aquarium during the World Cup to international celebrity as he correctly called the outcome of Germany's seven matches in the monthlong tournament, time and again picking a mussel from a tank marked with the flag of the would-be winner.
He also correctly predicted Spain would beat Germany in the semifinals — prompting many in his home country to speculate how he would taste grilled in garlic butter.
Already a celebrity in Spain after the semifinal prediction — Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero offered to send a security team to protect the 2 1/2-year-old floppy octopus from the hungry Germans — the country went wild for him after he correctly tipped Spain over the Netherlands in the finals.
Paul is now so popular in Spain that a northwestern Spanish town tried to borrow him. Officials in O Carballino, population 14,000, declared that the octopus is their "honorary friend" and wanted Paul's presence to promote a seafood festival, the Faro de Vigo newspaper said.
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