Phil Says 6 More Weeks
February 1, 2010 •
The famous weather-forecasting Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today, dooming us to six more weeks of winter—if you believe that sort of thing.
Punxsutawney Phil might be an expert at shadow spotting, but texting? Not so much. A full two hours after the famous groundhog “saw” his shadow, the rodent’s inaugural stab at text-messaging appeared.
Phil’s Twitter and Facebook page have fared a little bit better, with 883 following his tweets and 7,773 friends on Facebook.
While Phil’s proponents maintain that his predictions are 100 percent accurate, the U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) has estimated that Phil is only correct about 40 percent of the time. Let’s hope Phil is wrong this year.
Useless Groundhog Facts:
- A groundhog’s life span is normally 6 to 8 years. Phil receives a drink of a magical punch every summer during the annual Groundhog Picnic, which gives him 7 more years of life.
- Insects don’t bother groundhogs and germs pretty much leave them alone. They are resistant to the plagues that periodically wipe out large numbers of wild animals. One reason for this is their cleanliness.
- A groundhog can whistle when it is alarmed. Groundhogs also whistle in the spring when they begin courting.
Sources: Wikipedia, National Geographic
