octopus

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Paul the World Cup Octopus Retires

No more psychic stuff for this cephalopod

(Newser) - Paul, the octopus who correctly predicted eight out of eight World Cup outcomes, including the final match , is retiring. He’s taking a “step back from the official oracle business,” a spokesperson for his Germany aquarium tells the AP . “He won't give any more oracle predictions—either...

Octopus Predicts Spain Will Win World Cup

So go call your bookie

(Newser) - It's official: Spain is going to win the World Cup. Paul the Octopus has decreed it, the Daily Telegraph reports. The psychic cephalopod is 6 for 6 this World Cup, and went 4 for 5 in Euro 2008, missing only when he predicted his beloved Germans to defeat Spain in...

Germans Dine on Octopus After World Cup Loss

Cephalopod soccer prophet is 6 for 6

(Newser) - Paul the Octopus was proven right yet again when Spain ousted Germany from World Cup contention yesterday, but this time, Germans weren’t singing the cephalopod prophet’s praises. Instead, bitter fans are scouring the Internet for octopus recipes, Der Spiegel reports. “Hey Frank,” said one customer...

World Cup 'Psychic Octopus' Predicts Spanish Win

Bad news for home country Germany

(Newser) - Paul the octopus isn't betting on his home country this time. The "psychic" octopus, who has become a sensation in Germany for correctly predicting the results of all the country's World Cup games so far this year, picked Spain to win the semi-final game. Paul, who lives in a...

Octopus Predicts German World Cup Games

He's 3 for 3

(Newser) - If you’re looking for World Cup gambling advice, you could do worse than to follow the lead of Paul the Octopus. Before each of Germany’s World Cup games, his keepers at the Sea Life public aquarium in Oberhausen toss him two glass cubes baited with mussels, each adorned...

Octopus vs. Shark? Octopus Wins
 Octopus vs. Shark? 
 Octopus Wins 
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Octopus vs. Shark? Octopus Wins

(Except in hockey)

(Newser) - What happens when you put dogfish sharks, which have been known to feed on octopuses from time to time, in the same aquarium tank with a giant pacific octopus? The aquarium's keepers figured the octopus would be able to evade the predator easily enough, so they didn't worry about it—...

Octopus Steals Video Camera, Swims Off With It

(Newser) - A cheeky octopus stole a diver’s video camera while he was filming underwater off the coast of New Zealand Thursday, and then swam off with it—the camera still rolling. When the octopus suddenly burst out of a bed of kelp and grabbed his bright blue camera, diver Victor...

Uproar Over Whale Sushi Just Ridiculous

Outrage at foreign preferences just 'gastronomic nationalism'

(Newser) - Sure, the owners of a Los Angeles-area sushi restaurant broke the law if they indeed served whale meat, but those in a tizzy had “better wipe that morsel of moral superiority from your chin,” Japhy Grant writes . At the root, it’s a culture disconnect: Eating whale is...

Coconut-Carrying Octopus Stuns Scientists

Homebuilding is first time tool use has been seen among octopi

(Newser) - Australian scientists observing octopi on the sea floor near Indonesia were amazed to discover that the creatures scoop up coconut halves, empty them out, and carry them around to assemble into shelters. The behavior shows a surprising level of intelligence, the researchers say, and is the first recorded instance of...

Octopus Muffs Intelligence Test

What a sucker: 7-foot octopus gets boxed in while trying to unlock lunch

(Newser) - Truman the octopus did a reverse Houdini act at a Boston aquarium yesterday, reports AP. Biologists seeking to keep the 7-foot octopus' brain busy gave him food inside a latched 14-inch cube. But the impatient contortionist skipped the locks and squeezed himself through a small gap in the cube. After...

Grabby Octopus Blamed For Calif. Aquarium Flood

She pulled out tank's water tube

(Newser) - A curious octopus caused a flood that soaked the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium with 200 gallons of water, the Los Angeles Times reports. A tiny two-spotted octopus “grabbed the tube that pulls out the water and caused it to spray outside the tank,” the aquarium’s education specialist...

Octopus Has How Many Legs? Guess Again

New research shows denizens of the deep show specialization, and handedness

(Newser) - Octopuses may not be eight-legged creatures after all, new research suggests. They do indeed have eight limbs, but some function more like arms, AFP reports. It breaks down like this: the front two are the most nimble and armlike, and are used for exploration; the back two are used mostly...

No Octopi for Wings Fans, Seller Says

Pittsburgh fishmonger wants 'to see the Penguins win, period'

(Newser) - Red Wings fans, save room in that suitcase—it may be tough to buy an octopus in Pittsburgh next week. One steel-town fishmonger refuses to sell octopi to Detroit fans once the Wings-Penguins Stanley Cup finals kick off on Saturday. In a tradition spanning more than 50 years, Detroit fans...

Kinky Octopus Sex Startles Scientists

Aquariums apparently don't put them in the mood

(Newser) - Octopuses are sexier in the wild than in the aquarium, report stunned researchers who snorkeled among the frisky cephalopods for several weeks in Indonesia. Some Abdopus aculeatus males employ deceit, mimicking females with their changeable colors and sneaking up on them from the reef bottom. Others jealously guard their mates,...

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