World Cup matches will be predicted by a panda

Thinkstock

World Cup matches will be predicted by a panda
(Image credit: Thinkstock)

Since Jimmy Fallon's puppies are grown and Paul the Octopus is dead, what adorable and/or exotic animal will help to predict the results of the 2014 World Cup? We may now have our newest animal soothsayer.

A giant panda conservation center in China's Sichuan province has reportedly "invited" a panda cub to predict the results of the 2014 World Cup. If all goes as planned, the panda will guess the winning soccer team by either picking food with the country's team on it or by climbing one of two trees, both of which bear flags for opposing teams.

Since China isn't participating in the upcoming games, there is "less of a chance" of any sort panda bias. And, after all, soccer knows fairness.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.