Even though we are now transplanted, I will never, ever relinquish my Pennsylvanian title. Groundhog day is reasons #1-46 for this. PA has a lot of proud accomplishments that intelligent people like to call “historically significant,” things like, you know, Constitutional Conventions and Declarations of Independence and Ben Franklin and the fact that we were the *second* state admitted to the Union, which is not that bad out of 50. (Boo you whore, Delaware).
Let’s get one thing straight. Those are all meaningless pieces of dung compared to the fact that we have Groundhog Day and Punxatawney Phil. The only normal reaction for residents of the rest of the United States on February 2nd is to be wholly and completely consumed with jealousy.
To properly celebrate, here are some Punxatawney Phil fun facts courtesy of Wiki!
- Punxsutawney Phil is a groundhog resident of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
- He is considered to be the world’s most famous prognosticating rodent.
- During the rest of the year, Phil lives in the town library with his “wife” Phyllis.
- A select group, called the Inner Circle, takes care of Phil year-round and also plans the annual ceremony.
- Zoological data suggest that groundhogs have an average lifespan of ten years in captivity and six years in the wild, with a maximum lifespan of 14 years in captivity documented.Punxsutawney Phil fans say that there is only one Phil (all the other groundhog weathermen are impostors), and that he has made weather prognostications for over 122 years as of 2012. They say that every summer, Phil is given a sip of the mysterious Groundhog Elixir, which magically lengthens his life for seven years.
- According to the Groundhog Club, Phil, after making the prediction, speaks to the Club President in “Groundhogese”, which only the current president can understand, and then his prediction is translated for the entire world.
- Of the 115 predictions on record so far, Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an “early spring” 15 times (13%). As to his accuracy, according to the StormFax Weather Almanac and records kept since 1887, Phil’s predictions have been correct 39% of the time
You are welcome!
Peace love and rodents,
Becker Out…
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