Daddy Steve: You might recall that I assigned Rolf and Sebastian the task of choosing a name for their new Götz brother. They presented their choice to me just before the new boy was scheduled to arrive. They seemed quite pleased with themselves; obviously they believed they had picked a winner.
Sebastian: Daddy Steve, we've made our decision.
Rolf: Ja, it's the name ov a very famous German
Sebastian: Very famous.
Daddy Steve: Okay, boys, lay it on me.
Sebastian: His name will be...
Sebastian & Rolf: PAUL!
Hm. I have to admit I was a bit surprised. Now, Paul is a handsome name, and no doubt popular in Germany as it is in many other places. However, after that build-up, I was really expecting something more along the lines of Ludwig or Johann.
Daddy Steve: Oh, great choice! So, who is this famous namesake?
Rolf: Ve vill show you.
Rolf & Sebastian: Ta-Da!
Daddy Steve: It's...an octopus. You want to name him after an octopus?
Rolf: Eine deutsche Krake. A German octopus.
Sebastian: Daddy Steve, he's not just any German octopus. Tell him, Rolf.
Rolf: Nein! He is Paul, the Psychic Octopus!
For those of you who lead sheltered lives, Paul the Psychic Octopus was a resident of Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany. A common octopus who was anything but, Paul gained worldwide fame for his astonishingly accurate predictions of World Cup Soccer winners. In his short life of two and a half years (an average lifespan for his species), Paul achieved an 85.7% success record in his predictions.
Paul, deep in concentration. Will it be Spain or Germany?
I suspect that our junior marine biologist Stephen Orange may have influenced this 'unique' choice.
Stephen Orange: Octopuses have a highly evolved nervous system. They are very intelligent, with complex thought processes, long and short term memories, and unique personalities. They can use tools and learn through observation.
Sebastian: Cool!
Rolf: Sehr interessant!
Avid soccer fans Mikko and Tyler were no doubt big supporters as well. Their arguments tend to be quite enthusiastic, if not terribly logical.
Mikko: Paul was an awesome octopus! I bet he knew David Beckham!
Tyler: I bet he could make things appear just by thinking about them!
Mikko: Like hot dogs.
Tyler: And race cars.
Sebastian: Wow! That's way cool!
Rolf: Ja, I like hot dogs.
The only question that remained is what soon-to-be-named Paul would think of his name. The answer, of course, is that he loved it. After all, what little boy wouldn't want to be named after a psychic, soccer-loving mollusk?
Paul: Danke, Meine Freunde! I haff the best name ever!
8 comments:
Boys know what boys like! Good choice of name, love their logic!
Paul is a good name for him...thank goodness it wasn't NEMO!! Or Flipper, or Willy.....:)
Hi Lorraine -
"Little boy logic" is quite a wonderful thing, isn't it?
Hi Simply -
...or Jaws! Yes, it could have been a disaster!
Steve
I remember Paul the octopus - he certainly made the TV news in Germany at the time.
It's a good choice of name, and perfectly logical to me! The name was completely out of fashion here for a while, but nowadays many babies are named Paul. I never realized their parents meant the octopus!
Hi Ursula -
It's funny how names cycle in and out of fashion. Here in the U.S., if your name is Steve, it's a dead giveaway that you're middle aged.
Steve
Well how interesting that the boys should chose Paul The Octopus ! I have to say I've never heard of him but then I do not follow football, so would not have needed to hang on the results of his physic tentacle! :)
I love their logic for choosing his name and so happy he liked it too!
Now I'm off to tell my Paul that he's had a famous Octopus named after him ..lol
Hi Dee -
Perhaps your Paul is psychic and can predict soccer winners? You had better ask him. This could be a new source of doll funds ;-)
Steve
Paul says he'd be picking the losers, so best to have left it up to the Octopus ! ;)
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