Because of the World Cup, the octopus "Paul" is extremely red. Why did the Germans choose not a crocodile, not a shark, not a whale, not a giant salamander, but an octopus to predict the game? In fact, rigorous Germans know that the octopus is an extremely intelligent marine animal. Octopus has a very developed brain and can distinguish itself in the mirror. It can also get out of the maze designed by scientists and eat crabs outside the maze. It has three hearts, two memory systems, and 500 million neurons in its brain. It can be called an escape master. In order to avoid being hunted by "predators", the octopus uses the well-known mimicry camouflage technique and sacrifices its "wrist". ", and can also use his two legs to "walk" to escape.
In the tropical waters of Indonesia, an octopus called Majinettes was photographed. When faced with danger or encountering divers, this octopus will use six of its eight "claws" to It only bends and folds upward to look like a coconut shell, and the remaining two "claws" will stand on the seafloor and move backward secretly, like a moving coconut, escaping by walking backwards. The posture is very funny. Another species, the walnut-sized octopus Eculites, also walks on two legs, but with its other six legs stretched out to mimic the appearance of seaweed.
Obviously, the octopus has no joints in its arms and legs, and no bones or muscles, but it does this. Biologists believe that the octopus's way of moving its arms is very unique, and its camouflage "skill" does require a little "brain". It turns out that octopuses have "conceptual thinking" and can solve complex problems on their own. This ability gives them the ability to "walk" on two legs.
Because octopuses are considered to be the most intelligent among invertebrates, the Germans chose octopuses to predict the World Cup.
In the 2010 World Cup, the octopus "Paul" only predicted Germany's games and won 5 consecutive games. It turns out that octopus prediction is a trick played by the Germans. Some people may ask why other countries don’t use octopuses to predict the outcome of their national teams. The answer is that the color of the German flag is exactly the color of the food that octopuses like to eat.
Stable structural myoglobin is a necessary condition for octopuses to survive in the deep sea. Octopuses are keen on eating crustaceans such as shrimps and crabs because of astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is the strongest antioxidant and is necessary to ensure the stability of myoglobin structure without being oxidized. Shrimp and crab are rich in astaxanthin, and the red substance in cooked shrimp and crab is astaxanthin. Therefore, the rule of the game is that the container covered with the flag must have these foods in order to attract the octopus to climb in.
The German flag is black, red and yellow, which are the colors of the octopus’s favorite food. They are clearly two prawns hiding in the darkness. His first choice would definitely be to attack such a target. The flag of Australia is dark blue with white rice characters. The octopus thinks the food is too small and will not choose it, so Australia loses. The flag of Serbia not only has a red shrimp, but also a red crab. The octopus thought it was more attractive, so it did not choose Germany, and Germany lost. It stands to reason that the flag of Ghana is similar to the flag of Germany, but precisely because of the five stars, the octopus thought it was impurity or dangerous, so it chose Germany instead, so Ghana is slightly behind Germany. What about England? A striking red cross was offensive to the octopus, but instead prompted the octopus to choose Germany. As a result, England was defeated. It was Argentina's turn. There was no color to attract the octopus, and a defeat was inevitable.
On July 6, 2010, before "Paul" made his prediction, someone analyzed that if Germany played Spain in the semi-finals, if the octopus were to choose, Germany would have no chance at all. Because the flag of Spain is three prawns and a crab. As it turns out, Squidward did choose Spain. But this does not explain the reason why "Paul" gave up Spain and chose Germany in the 2008 European Cup.
In the vast nature, almost all molluscs are color blind, and most of their eyes have degenerated. And octopuses are obviously not color blind.
Octopus has abundant cones and rods, which can distinguish colors keenly. The eyes of octopuses are very similar to those of vertebrates, with corneas, lenses, iris and retinas that can focus images. However, it differs from the vertebrate eye in that it focuses light by adjusting the distance between the lens and the retina, whereas vertebrates focus light by changing the size of the lens. Octopuses can recognize shapes, color shades and textures of objects. Another difference is that the octopus has no blind spots in its eyes; its nerve cells are on the outside of its eyeballs.
The Spanish aquarium wants to spend money to buy Paul the octopus to satisfy the people's wishes. Someone in Spain has offered a sky-high price of 30,000 euros to invite Paul to "transfer". The "octopus effect" is spreading crazily.
The person who proposed to buy Paul was the small Spanish town of Cavallino. The local council hoped to use the octopus to promote the name of this area and make the octopus a representative of the city and display it locally. Interestingly, the proposal to invite Paul to "transfer" was first initiated by a local businessman. He originally hoped to invest 10,000 euros to buy Paul, but local residents continued to join in, and finally raised 30,000 euros. However, locals have different opinions on Paul's future. Some people think that he should be eaten, while others say that he should be worshiped in an aquarium.
In addition, there is news that Octopus Paul’s peripheral products have become very popular. Paul made Germany's Oberhausen Aquarium world-famous and it has been listed as one of the must-see attractions for many tourists who intend to go to Germany. Faced with this cash cow, Pearl Wall, the manager of the Oberhausen Aquarium, has made it clear that Paul will spend his remaining years here.
The magical octopus Paul has also become the object of global attention because he predicted all eight games of the World Cup in South Africa correctly. Some media claim that Paul is the real champion of this World Cup. In the finals, Paul successfully predicted that Spain would win the championship, which made the Spaniards regard him as a god. The aquarium of the Madrid Zoo also attracted Paul's attention, and they hoped to spend money to "transfer" Paul from Germany to Spain can give its people the opportunity to get up close and personal with this magical octopus, while also hoping to make a fortune in ticket sales. The Spanish team defeated Germany and the Netherlands 1-0 in the semi-finals and finals. Paul made correct predictions at that time. In the eyes of many Spaniards, it was Paul's magical protection that the matador finally won the championship. "Believe in Paul." "Eternal life" has also become an idea for many Spaniards. Even Spanish players are no exception. Defender Ramos shouted "Long live Paul" after the team defeated Germany. Many Spanish internationals were surprised by Paul's magic. "Marca" also regarded Paul as a Spanish player. The amulet, Western Prime Minister Zapatero even stated that he would send a convoy to protect Paul's safety to prevent the Germans from killing him. After defeating the Netherlands in the final and winning the cup, the first sentence of Iniesta, the hero of the goal, was "First of all, I want to thank Paul the Octopus. His prediction made our dream come true!"
Many Spaniards now hope that See the true face of Paul the octopus. Paul lives in the aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, so there are still a few people who can do so. It is not practical to spend money to go to Germany just to see Paul. Therefore, many of Paul’s Fans also hope that Spain's animal agency can bring Paul back to the country. In order to satisfy the public's wishes, the director of the Madrid Zoo and Aquarium said that they decided to introduce Paul the Octopus as soon as possible and had already contacted the Oberhausen Aquarium.
The latest news revealed that the conditions proposed by the Madrid Zoo are to exchange some of the animals in its own zoo for Paul. As long as they are in the Madrid Zoo and the Germans like them, they can be exchanged. The animal authorities in Madrid also proposed that they could pay a financial fee to the Oberhausen Aquarium for Paul. At the same time, the person in charge of the Madrid Zoo and Aquarium also promised that if Paul officially settles in Spain, they will give Paul the best care, provide the best living conditions and food, and at the same time give Paul a good "partner" in the future. He provides for his old age and continues his family lineage.
Paul is expected to live for about two years. The Spaniards also hope that Paul can live in Madrid for the rest of his life and bring a lot of income to the aquarium. Considering that Paul has become the treasure of the Oberhausen Aquarium, the Germans may not give up Paul easily, even in the face of huge financial temptations. Fay, the director of the Oberhausen Aquarium, said that Paul is Priceless and they won't sell it. Of course, if Paul is "loaned" to Madrid for a short period of time for an exhibition, and then brought back to Germany, it would be an option to get the best of both worlds. However, the above so-called "scientific interpretation" does not hold water. Some netizens raised a simple question: The shrimp Squidward ate had green shells (not red)! Let’s think about the reasons, haha! After everyone calmed down, it was generally believed that the "Squidward phenomenon" was man-made and was intended to expose some things that were not convenient to talk about directly.