Need Answers? Ask Paul the Psychic Octopus

(July 8) -- Forget about the LeBron James prime-time TV special tonight. Sure, millions across America will tune in to find out which team the NBA free-agent superstar will join. But tomorrow, the eyes of the world will be on Paul the Octopus as he predicts the winner of the World Cup.

Paul, who lives at the Sea Life Aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, has become the most unlikely celebrity of this international soccer tournament by correctly forecasting the outcome of every match his home team played. He's 6-for-6 after picking Spain to beat Germany in the semifinals. A German TV news channel ran live coverage of him choosing to eat a mussel from a clear box marked with Spain's flag instead of the box with the German flag. That's how the psychic cephalopod rolls.

The oracle of Oberhausen will double down Friday morning, according to an aquarium spokeswoman. First, Paul will predict the winner of Saturday's third-place match between Germany and Uruguay. Then, for the first time, he'll make a pick in a game that doesn't involve his country: Sunday's championship showdown between Spain and the Netherlands.

AOL News contributor Ed Mazza picked up on the story of the World Cup octopus early in the tournament, when Paul was just 2-for-2.

"If Paul gets any better at this, he could have an incredible career as a telephone psychic -- able to handle eight lines at once," Mazza marveled.

(Paging the Psychic Friends Network. Did Dionne Warwick see this coming?)

Now that he's still flawless in the World Cup, let's hope the future holds something better than a call center for the eight-limbed soothsayer. Paul isn't an infallible invertebrate, but the last time he was wrong was in 2008, when his success rate for the European Championship was a mere 80 percent. Who else can claim to be more reliably right?

Imagine all the other ways Paul's predictive powers might be harnessed for the good of a world that craves certainty.

Android or iPhone 4? Ask Paul.

Does Lindsay Lohan really deserve 90 days in jail? Let Paul be the judge.

Extend jobless benefits or control the deficit? Paul can pick.

Who will win control of Congress in November? Paul knows.

Do these pants make my butt look big? This would be the true test of Paul's wisdom. Instead of choosing the yes or no box, he would have to climb out of the tank as fast as his eight legs can move him -- because there is no right answer to that question.

Paul is not universally beloved. There were death threats after he correctly predicted Argentina's loss to Germany in the quarterfinals. (There's even the obligatory "Downfall" parody video on YouTube about Hitler planning to kill Paul for picking Spain. Hitler hates those vuvuzelas at the World Cup, too.)

Although some disappointed fans want to turn the seer of the sea into a seafood dinner -- and have even posted recipes online -- celebrity Spanish chef Jose Andres has taken octopus off the menu at all his restaurants in honor of Paul, The Washington Post reported.

The octopus has impressed oddsmakers so much that some are taking bets on whether Paul's World Cup championship prediction will be correct.

"Punters are keen to keep on the right side of Paul's tips, so we are giving them the chance to bet that he'll pick the winner before they even know which side he has opted for," Graham Sharpe, spokesman for British bookmaker William Hill, told The Guardian.

"He's got a hell of a hit rate. He's becoming a very respected pundit," agreed Gary Pearn, a senior bookmaker with New Zealand's TAB.

Given Paul's perfect record in this World Cup so far, it's a wonder anyone would question his picks. Just ask the gambler who ignored the oracle and wagered half a million euros on Germany against Spain. He lost the biggest World Cup bet ever.

Paul has the answers. Only a sucker would bet against this octopus.