- Mani the parakeet
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Mani the parakeet Species Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) Sex Male Born 1997
MalaysiaNation from Singapore Occupation Astrologer Known for Making World Cup football predictions Owner M. Muniyappan Mani the parakeet (hatched 1997), also called Mani the parrot, is a Malaysian-born[1] Rose-ringed Parakeet who resides in Singapore. It has been an astrologer 'assistant' to M. Muniyappan since 2005, working from his Little India fortune-telling shop along Serangoon Road. M. Muniyappan is locally known to makes his predictions using a simplified form of cartomancy.
Mani became a celebrity in Singapore, and later internationally, when he picked the correct winners for all of the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final ties, as well as the Spain-Germany semi-final.[2] However, Mani failed to predict the Spain – Netherlands final by choosing Netherlands as the winner of the 2010 World Cup. At one point on July 5, 2010, a day before the Uruguay-Netherlands semi-final match, Mani topped Google's "Hot Searches" in Singapore.[3]
Prior to his World Cup stint, Mani and his owner M. Muniyappan, used to see an average of 10 customers a day. Following his World Cup success, this increased to around 10 customers an hour.[2][4]
Contents
Predictions
Fortune tellers with parakeets are a common sight in Singapore's Little India. Here, owner M. Muniyappan sits with Mani the Parakeet.
While Mani typically assisted his owner Muniyappan in fortune-telling in day-to-day work, it was his predictions over the matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup that saw him gain widespread recognition.
According to Singapore's The New Paper, Mani's most contentious pick for the World Cup thus far was underdog Netherlands to beat Brazil.[5] His prediction later proved to be correct.
The quarter-finals saw Mani guessing the four winners of the matches correctly – Spain, Germany, Uruguay and Netherlands.[6] In the semi-finals, he predicted that Uruguay would beat Netherlands and Spain would defeat Germany, thereby leading to a Uruguay vs Spain final. Mani went on further to predict that Spain would be champions.[6]
The Uruguay vs Netherlands prediction turned out to be wrong, with Netherlands progressing on to the final.[6] As a result, Mani made a new prediction for the World Cup Final between Netherlands and Spain. It tipped a Dutch win over Spain. On the other hand, fellow oracle star Paul the Octopus of Germany went for a Spanish victory,[7][8][9] resulted in some media outlets describing the game as an octopus-versus-parakeet showdown.[7][8][9] However, Spain defeated the Netherlands 1-0 and Paul was proven to be triumphant.[10]
Results
Date Tournament Stage Match Prediction Results Outcome 2 July 2010 World Cup 2010 Quarter-finals 
Netherlandsv 
Brazil Netherlands[5][6]2-1 Correct 2 July 2010 World Cup 2010 Quarter-finals 
Uruguayv 
Ghana Uruguay[6]4-2 (PSO) Correct 3 July 2010 World Cup 2010 Quarter-finals 
Argentinav 
Germany Germany[6]0–4 Correct 3 July 2010 World Cup 2010 Quarter-finals 
Paraguayv 
Spain Spain[6]0–1 Correct 6 July 2010 World Cup 2010 Semi-finals Uruguayv Netherlands Uruguay[6]2–3 Incorrect 7 July 2010 World Cup 2010 Semi-finals Germanyv Spain Spain[6]0–1 Correct 11 July 2010 World Cup 2010 Final Netherlandsv Spain Netherlands[8]0–1 Incorrect Method of divination
Mani exits his small wooden cage and chooses between two white cards — each hiding the flag of the countries of a match that will be played. Mani will pick one of the cards up with his beak and flip it over, revealing the winner for the match.[8] Some Singaporeans, in particular older generations, seek fortune tellers for advice.
International reportage
Following his successful stint in predicting the semi-finalists of the World Cup, Mani rose to international stardom. The New Paper of Singapore was the first to feature his story and predictions, and newspapers from across the globe soon followed suit – partially as a result of The New Paper's frequent broadcast on the bird. News agencies including the AFP[4] and Associated Press[11] ran reports on Mani, alongside newspapers such as The Guardian,[12] the Daily Mail,[8] and American magazine Vanity Fair.[13]
Mani's story is closely aligned with that of Paul the Octopus, who has maintained 100% accuracy in its predictions for Germany in the FIFA World Cup 2010. The World Cup final saw some media outlets terming it as more of a Octopus vs Parakeet showdown, with the two having chosen opposing teams.[7][8][9] Paul the Octopus emerged the winner in the psychic showdown.
References
- ^ "Mani the parakeet video: Bird picks Holland to win World Cup". The Washington Post. 9 July 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2010/07/08/VI2010070803784.html.
- ^ a b "'Mani the parakeet' picks Netherlands as World Cup winner". Channel NewsAsia. 8 July 2010. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1068343/1/.html.
- ^ "Mani's a mini celebrity". The New Paper. 7 July 2010. http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,247900,00.html.
- ^ a b "'Psychic' parakeet picks Netherlands as World Cup winners". AFP. 10 July 2010. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hkZiljuM-Ienc0fstqhriVCw7jSA.
- ^ a b "Did you follow the Mani-Maker?". The New Paper. 4 July 2010. http://tnp.sg/sports/story/0,4136,247354,00.html.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "A little birdie told us... Spain will be champs". The New Paper. 6 July 2010. http://tnp.sg/sports/story/0,4136,247661,00.html.
- ^ a b c "World Cup Final a Battle of Octopus vs. Parakeet". CBS News. 9 July 2010.. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/09/sportsline/main6661713.shtml.
- ^ a b c d e f "WORLD CUP 2010: Paul the Psychic Octopus has competition as Mani the parakeet pecks Holland as his winners". London: Daily Mail. 9 July 2010.. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2010/article-1293315/WORLD-CUP-2010-Paul-Psychic-Octopus-competition-Mani-parakeet.html.
- ^ a b c "Octopus Paul vs Mani the parakeet: Who will triumph?". Yahoo! Singapore. 10 July 2010.. http://g.sg.sports.yahoo.com/football/world-cup/blog/fever-pitch/post/Octopus-Paul-vs-Mani-the-parakeet-Who-will-triu?urn=fbintl,254967.
- ^ Batty, David (2010-07-12). "Paul the 'psychic' octopus wins again in World Cup final". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/12/paul-psychic-octopus-wins-world-cup. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ "The Associated Press: S'pore World Cup-forecasting parakeet picks Dutch". Associated Press. 10 July 2010. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jyojxLk1Kg-rlLvCKJKgsADkFnLAD9GRDR081.
- ^ "Pulpo Paul has World Cup rival: meet Mani the psychic parakeet". London: Guardian. 9 July 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/09/pulpo-paul-mani-psychic-parakeet.
- ^ "Mani the World Cup–Predicting Parakeet Does Not Think Paul the Psychic Octopus Could Be More Wrong". Vanity Fair. 9 July 2010. http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/07/mani-the-world-cuppredicting-parakeet-does-not-think-paul-the-psychic-octopus-could-be-more-wrong.html.
External links
- YouTube: Singapore Psychic Bird Predicts Holland to win World Cup 2010 (video of Mani in action)
2010 FIFA World Cup Stages Qualification · Group A · Group B · Group C · Group D · Group E · Group F · Group G · Group H · Knockout stage · FinalMedia Broadcasting rights · 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa · Listen Up! The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup AlbumPsychic animals Mani the parakeet · Paul the OctopusGeneral information Adidas Jabulani ball · Controversies · Discipline · Officials · Opening ceremony · Schedule · Seeding · Squads · Statistics · July 2010 Kampala attacks · Vuvuzela · Zakumi mascot2010 FIFA World Cup finalists Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place Eliminated in the quarterfinals Eliminated in the round of 16 Eliminated in group stage Algeria · Australia · Cameroon · Côte d'Ivoire · Denmark · France · Greece · Honduras · Italy · Korea DPR · New Zealand · Nigeria · Serbia · Slovenia · South Africa · SwitzerlandCategories:- Psychics
- Parakeets
- Parrots
- Individual birds
- 1997 animal births
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