The World

10 ESSENTIAL STORIES

By Harriet Barovick, Ishaan Tharoor, Alexandra Silver, Claire Suddath, Frances Romero and Josh Sanburn Monday, Nov. 08, 2010

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    The most astute pundit during this summer's World Cup was a mollusk-munching cephalopod in an aquarium in Western Germany. Paul the "psychic" octopus won global fame by correctly predicting the winning team when faced with two different boxes marked with the competitors' flags. His oracular powers inspired gamblers and spawned movie deals and memorabilia. Paul died Oct. 26 at age 2½. There's no word whether his replacement, also named Paul, has his gift for close calls.

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