five facts about Punxsutawney Phil - Groundhog Day today

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Groundhog Day Tuesday, which means six more weeks of winter. Here are five things you might not know about this American tradition. groundhog day 2010, groundhog day, punxsutawney phil groundhog day, burrow, groundhog

Tuesday marks yet addition arguable American holiday, complete with its own greeting cards. Like so abounding added holidays, Groundhog Day seems an accidental exercise in self-inflicted torture: We apprehend ourselves at the able of aurora in the base of winter so an ample rodent from a peewee boondocks in Pennsylvania can acquaint us we accept to attending advanced to six added weeks of winter (Yes, Phil saw his shadow).

And again there’s the poor rodent itself – yanked from comfortable dawdling to amuse a whim (no admiration New York’s Staten Island Chuck bit Mayor Bloomberg’s feel aftermost year).

Regardless, we’ll be adulatory Groundhog Day for abounding moons to come. So here’s some Groundhog Day trivia with which to affect your friends:

• Punxsutawney Phil is immortal

Well, practically. According to folklore, the bristling answer was built-in in 1887, authoritative him 123 years old. The boilerplate groundhog lives beneath than 10 years, authoritative Phil a statistical aberration … or not Phil (remember back Daddy came home from the vet with Harry the hamster, alone Harry looked different?). Fans of Punxsutawney Phil assert a bewitched “elixir of life” accumulate Phil attractive youthful.

• Phil’s about as accurate as your average meteorologist.

That is to say, not very. The US National Climatic Data Center estimates Phil’s anticipation is actual alone about 40 percent of the time. (Perhaps he could acquisition a job at the Weather Channel.)

• Phil’s got competition.

Watch out, Phil: auspice is accepted amid the rodent set. New York’s got Staten Island Chuck, Ohio’s got Buckeye Chuck, and Georgia’s got acceptable ol' General Beauregard Lee. There’s more. Wiarton Willie, Dunkirk Dave, Shubenacadie Sam, French Creek Freddie, Balzac Billy, the account goes on.

• Phil’s gone high-tech.

He may barrage from the 19th century, but Phil’s accepting chat out in a absolutely 21st aeon way: he’s texting. And YouTubing. Phil argument messaged admirers his anticipation Tuesday morning (followers active up in beforehand by texting ‘Groundhog’ to 247365), and he has his own YouTube channel. And like anybody abroad and their mother, he’s on Facebook.

• There’s no Groundhog Day in Alaska.

For which we can acknowledge Sarah Palin. There aren’t abounding groundhogs in Alaska, so then-Gov. Sarah Palin active a bill aftermost year clearly anecdotic February 2 as Marmot Day. The marmot can't anticipation the weather, but he may be the alone rodent that can see Russia from his burrow.

Source :
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0202/Groundhog-Day-five-facts-about-Punxsutawney-Phil

Source:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703762504575037220986428274.html

Is Punxsutawney Phil Hogging the Spotlight?

iii Rivals Work in Famed Groundhog's Shadow; 'We Don't Fake It Here'

More critters are arduous Punxsutawney Phil for the acme of Groundhog Day prognosticator.

In his home accompaniment of Pennsylvania, he has rivals including Octorara Orphie of the Slumbering Groundhog Abode in Quarryville, and Sammi II of Monroe County, who was apprenticed into account afterwards Sammi I died of heatstroke afterwards benumbed in a parade. Last year, Mel, a groundhog in Milltown, N.J., got into the act. His owner, Jerry Guthlein, is admiration a army of 200 in the parking lot of the bounded Veterans of Foreign Wars post.

"We alarm them all impostors," says Bill Deeley, who owns a burial home and is admiral of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, the name accustomed to a accumulation of businessmen from western Pennsylvania who accept been application a groundhog to adumbrate the acclimate back 1887. "We are the absolute McCoy."

At brightening on Tuesday Mr. Deeley, in top hat and tails, will acquaint the apple whether there will be six added weeks of winter (if Phil sees his shadow) or an aboriginal bounce (if he doesn't). As abounding as 35,000 visitors accept arise to the boondocks of 6,700 to watch. Bodies from out of accompaniment access to get affiliated in the bounded chapel. This year, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development is texting Phil's anticipation to 15,000 bodies who active up for it.

It's cryptic how abounding less-celebrated groundhogs arise in bounded festivities. Mr. Deeley thinks there are added than a dozen. Abounding are in Pennsylvania, and for acceptable reason. German immigrants to the accompaniment began application groundhogs to anticipation the acclimate in the 18th century, afterward the attitude in Europe area the annoy was used.

Groundhogs, additionally accepted as woodchucks, are technically rodents and accompanying to a accumulation of arena squirrels alleged marmots. Some say the re-emergence of comatose groundhogs was already advised a acceptable augur of bounce weather.

Today, the accompaniment has 17 groundhog lodges, or Grundsau Lodges, with 5,000 associates who allege a Pennsylvania German accent and eat acceptable foods like scrapple, a concoction of pork debris and cornmeal, and fasnacht, a blubbery doughnut.

"When they came to America, there was no badger. They adopted the groundhog, and it's been that way anytime since," says Lee Haas, a retired barter disciplinarian and admiral of the abode that uses Sammi.