It's been three months since Paul the octopus died and six months since he completed his fantastical run of perfection, eating the food out of boxes associated with the winning team in eight different World Cup matches. And now, instead of quietly fading into obscurity, the German aquarium where Paul lived is squeezing his famous tentacles for those last bits (namely: ashes and attention). When Paul died, the manager of the aquarium said that a permanent shrine "may seem a curious thing to do for a sea creature." But now, that curious thing is a reality.
On Thursday, the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, unveiled a creepy yet fitting 6 1/2-foot tall monument of an oversized Paul the octopus limply crushing a large ball featuring the flags of all the 2010 World Cup nations' flags. I'm assuming this represents how for one summer, an octopus used the game to become overlord of the human world.
Inside the monument is a golden urn containing Paul's ashes. Yes, they cremated an octopus...
From the AP:
In addition, the aquarium created “Paul Corner,” which includes newspaper clippings in many different languages that tell of Paul’s global fame and exhibits gifts sent to the museum.
A family in Spain sent a glass of mussels in oil as a reward for Paul after he correctly predicted that Spain would win the World Cup, [aquarium spokeswoman Tanja] Munzig said. A fan from New Zealand tailored a red, sleeveless football shirt for Paul—with a hole for each tentacle.
Sound ridiculous? Welcome to the story of Paul.
Meanwhile, the 6-month-old octopus the aquarium is billing as Paul's oracle successor apparently isn't sure yet if it wants to follow Paul's path. And yes, we are still talking about an octopus.
“We’re not pushing him into being an oracle against his will, that’s for sure,” Munzig said. “But if he is going to develop an interest in football and forecasting, we’ll be very supportive of his talents.”
There are no words for this.
Photos: Reuters, Getty
Amber Brkich Gretha Cavazzoni Marla Sokoloff Jennifer Love Hewitt Tina Fey
No comments:
Post a Comment