Conspiracy watch: Was Paul the psychic octopus murdered?

The conspiracy theory: Paul the "psychic" octopus — arguably the biggest celebrity to emerge from World Cup 2010, after he correctly predicted eight straight matches — passed away peacefully in his tank in Germany earlier this week. Or did he? Chinese filmmaker Jiang Xiao says she has evidence that Paul died on July 9, just days after indicating that Germany would lose their semi-final match against Spain. "The Germans have been covering up his death and fooling us for a long time," Xiao told The Guardian. Other suspicious commentators are suggesting that foul play was involved.

The reaction: The most urgent question is who killed him, says Nick Coman at NESN.com. My guess is that culprits were Italian and French fans keen to "erase any relics" of this World Cup after their disastrous showings. There are also rumors going around that Paul was knocked off by "vengeful bookies," says Alan Black at the San Francisco Chronicle. My suspicions are alighting on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declares Mr Holznagel at Who2.com. Remember how the Iranian president labeled him a symbol of Western immorality? "Probably they slipped arsenic into his crayfish."

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