AUDIO: GROUNDHOG DAY FACTS
Here are some facts about Groundhog Day, which is tomorrow, Wednesday, February 2nd:
– The earliest mention of Groundhog Day is a diary entry made by James L. Morris of Morgantown, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 2, 1840.
– The first reported news of a Groundhog Day observance didn’t come until 1886, when it was mentioned in the Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
– How accurate is Groundhog Day? Studies have found no conclusive evidence or a consistent correlation between a groundhog seeing its shadow – or not – and the weather.
– The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where crowds as large as 40,000 gather each year. The tradition of watching a groundhog emerge from his burrow began as a custom among the German “Dutch” community in Pennsylvania in the 1880s.
– The club that runs the Groundhog Day events claims that famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil is immortal – and that it’s been the same Punxsutawney Phil for all 132 years of the tradition. He’s not.
– Punxsutawney Phil comes out at 7:25 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2 at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. There will be a live broadcast available on VisitPa’s website.
* How does this work? Does the groundhog have an alert scheduled in its iPhone calendar app?
* Punxsutawney Phil is not immortal? What’s the deal, then? It’s a zombie? A vampire?
* Other Groundhog Day facts:
– Punxsutawney is an old Indian expression meaning, “Separate the white man from his money.”
– To get him out of the hole, they lower a small child down on a rope, to poke him with a stick.
– In the event of illness, Punxsutawney Phil’s understudy is a giant rat named Dennis.
– The Punxsutawney groundhog has eaten 8 fingers over the years. You never hear about that.
– Punxatawneyans really need something more to occupy their time.
CLIP: From “Groundhog Day,” the clock radio goes off and plays Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe.”
