Punxsutawney Phil’s Fun Facts
By Teagan N.
Every year, on February 2nd, 20-30,000 people gather around a stump and wait for their weather predicting friend to pop out and determine the forecast. Around half of that group is tourists, the other half being Pennsylvania citizens. He speaks to a special group called the ‘Inner Circle’ in the language of groundhogese, and tells them whether or not he’s seen his shadow. Only the president of the Inner Circle understands groundhogese, giving them a rather heavy advantage. Luckily enough, I was able to convince the president to be a translator, so I myself could ask Phil a few questions. Here are Punxsutawney Phil’s fun facts, translated and printed!
Punxsutawney Phil is indeed the same groundhog from 1886, reaching a whopping 129 years old! His secret to life is a special drink called ‘groundhog punch’, which gives him seven more years of life. Groundhogs often eat bugs, such as grubs and grasshoppers, but are mostly herbivores, eating grass, berries, and other vegetation.
According to Phil, his original name was Br’er Groundhog, and he was very good friends with Br’er Rabbit. When he was found by the original Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, they named him after King Philip. However, it was not named on which King Philip he was named after.
The classic legend is that if Phil comes out and sees his shadow, then there will be six more weeks of winter. However, if he does not see his shadow, a huge party is thrown and everyone celebrates because there will be an early spring. Ihere is some logic behind this. If you can see your shadow, then the sun must be out. When the sun is out, there are no clouds to keep the heat inside the atmosphere, making the day colder. According to Phil, his predictions are correct around 75-90% of the time. This contradicts with the Stormfax Almanac, which states that Phil is correct only 39% of the time.
When a groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, is alarmed, he has the ability to whistle. Phil states that groundhogs learned to whistle to distract predators, and make them think the lumberjacks were heading towards them.
In 1993, the movie Groundhog Day was released, bringing more tourists to Gobbler’s Knob than ever before on the next Groundhog Day. The movie itself was shot in Woodstock, Illinois, yet when people visit the true Gobbler’s Knob, they are often quoted saying how it “looks so different, yet seems so similar”.
For my last question, I asked if Phil was the only true weather-predicting groundhog. He responded that he is indeed, while the other groundhogs are imposters trying to get a piece of fame.
So if you ever find yourself in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, on Groundhog Day, make sure to give a wave to my friend Phil.