Photo courtesy of Albert Kok
He has declared atomic energy “a gift from God,” has said that the Holocaust is a myth, and has condemned the entire Western world. But now Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has found another foe: His name is Paul and he is both a psychic and an octopus.
Over the weekend in a speech delivered in Tehran, President Ahmadinejad declared Paul the Octopus an agent of “Western propaganda and superstition,” and a symbol of “decadence and decay.”
Paul first became an international figure when he forecasted the correct outcome of six matches during the 2008 European Football Championships by pointing to national flags with each one of his eight legs. But after his flawless predictions of the 2010 World Cup, his celebrity status soared to new heights catapulting his career.
He had an i-phone application named after him, landed an agent, was declared an “honorary friend” by Mayor Carlos Montes of O’ Carballino in Spain, and even won an endorsement deal promoting a fundraising for endangered sea turtles on the beautiful Greek island of Zakynthos. It seemed that Paul’s fortune telling would provide him a life of perpetual good fortune. He proudly retired this past July 12 to his home at the Sea Life Center in Oberhausen, Germany in order to give back to a world that has given him so much.
But more recently things have begun to go south for the eight legged creature. Angered by their third place finish in the World Cup, some German citizens have begun harassing Paul with death threats. Hatred for Paul is spreading. Later this month Chinese filmmaker Xiao Jiang’s latest film will be released: The film is titled “Kill Paul Octopus.” Paul is even at risk of eviction from his home, as the Sea Life Aquarium has been offered tens of thousands of dollars for his purchase by companies such as Bet League, a Russian betting firm. And now, he’s won the hatred of a man that Time Magazine called, “one of the most troublesome and noteworthy leaders in the world.”
Even if he manages to survive this downward spiral, no matter which direction Paul’s life takes, he is now just over two and a half years old and the average lifespan of an Octopus is three.
Photo courtesy of Hu Totya