Squidlock - Dead Paul, the Octopus Blocks Traffic in London
Posted on the 16 June 2014 by Sampathkumar Sampath
In
Computer parlance, Squid is a proxy server and web cache daemon. It has a wide
variety of uses, from speeding up a web server by caching repeated requests; to
caching web, DNS and other computer network lookups for a group of people
sharing network resources; to aiding security by filtering traffic. In animal
World, more specifically related to marine life, Octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda.
Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms and, like other cephalopods,
they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at
the center point of the arms. Octopuses have no internal or external skeleton –
and are considered to be most
intelligent and behaviorally flexible of all invertebrates ! The octopus
inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, including coral reefs, pelagic
waters, and the ocean floor. They have numerous strategies for defending
themselves against predators, including the expulsion of ink, the use of
camouflage and deimatic displays, their ability to jet quickly through the
water, and their ability to hide. An octopus trails its eight arms behind it as
it swims.
Squid are
cephalopods and have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms.
Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually
longer, tentacles. Squid are strong swimmers and certain species can
"fly" for short distances out of the water. Though both Octopuses and
Squids fall under cephalopods - they differ in their physical characteristics,
habitat and behavior. An octopus has a
round head and a mantle along with eight arms. Squids have a triangular shaped head, a mantle and
eight arms. he arms of a Squid are endowed with hooks and/or suckers or sucker
rings. The tentacles are arranged in pairs.
In 2010, the
whole of Spain erupted with
joy as their National side reached the FIFA WC final for the first time ever
beating the odds on favorite Germany
by a solitary goal. Before the first kick, Germany’s
fate was sealed at Oberhausen – it was the divination of - Paul
the Octopus, a two-year-old who
correctly predicted the results of major German international football matches
especially in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The ungainly looking creature was hatched at the Sea
Life Park
in Weymouth, England
but resided at Sea Life Aquarium in Oberhausen,
Germany. Before German international football matches,
Paul was presented with food in two identical containers; one container marked
with the flag of Germany and
the other is marked with the flag of Germany's opponent. In each
instance, Paul's choice of food was interpreted as his predicted victor. Paul
reportedly chose the winner correctly in
five of Germany's six UEFA
Euro 2008 matches, predicting that Germany
would win every match except a loss to Croatia.
After its
prediction of loss of Germany, some were calling that it be put to menu and
Spanish PM once jokingly said that he would send a team of body guards to
protect. When it died, the flags were kept at half-mast at the Sea Life Centre
in Germany,
the keepers wore black armbands and people stood in queues to sign the book of
condolence. Now the dead animal is in
news again as it made people wait impatiently.
Daily Mail and
other newspapers reported that a giant replica of a prescient octopus made
suckers of commuters in Britain’s
capital when the truck carrying it broke down, blocking one of London's busiest intersections in the morning
rush hour. The cephalopod statue was being towed on behalf of a betting company
that had used it as a prop in a promotional campaign ahead of this month’s
soccer World Cup when the truck apparently broke down.