Winter has barely started and it's already Groundhog Day! As Kung proudly reported, his PA groundhog today confirmed our very own Wiarton Willie's prediction of an early spring. The Punxsutawney Phil is known to be the original and most accurate groundhog around, but our Wiarton Willie isn't weak - Willie's albino (There's no mistaking Willie for a beaver) and accurate 37% of the time!
CBC wrote up a short article today on Wiarton Willie's history. Quite an amusing read.
How groundhogs got a reputation for predicting weather patterns is a mystery, because they are not the least bit interested in their shadows or the number of winter weeks remaining. The only reason they come out of hibernation is for food and sex.I knew it!!!
The original Wiarton Willie, an albino groundhog died during hibernation during the winter of 1998-99. Willie's death made headlines around the world. On Groundhog Day, they put Wiarton Willie face-up in a small pine casket, bright pennies over his eyes, paws clutching a raw carrot. But it was a fake!All those conspiracy theories confirmed!
Included in the article are some quick groundhog facts submitted from the one and only, Cornell University. Two facts in particular caught my eye:
- Woodchuck and groundhog are common terms for the same animal.
- How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? About 318 kg
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