On Friday, Groundhog Day, which has been celebrated for almost a century and a half, the small town of Punxtonia in the US state of Pennsylvania was once again in the spotlight, because the world’s most famous weather forecaster, Phil the groundhog, had time to predict whether we can hope for an early end to winter.
The process of predicting the weather is simple – Phil comes out of his bed after a long hibernation and watches his shadow. If the groundhog sees his shadow, he will conclude that winter is six weeks away and return to the cave. If the sky is cloudy and no shadow can be seen, the groundhog will think that spring has arrived and will stay outside.
In a solemn ceremony on Friday, the groundhog was brought out of its lair, and many thousands of those present hoped that on this winter’s day the beast would be able to notice the signs of spring. Their hopes came true.
Scientifically speaking, astronomical spring would occur on March 20 regardless of Phil’s predictions, although Mother Nature is nowhere near counting that. Like Phil. And even though he doesn’t have a degree in meteorology, every year on February 2nd, many Americans listen to the beast’s message.
The first mention of a Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney can be found in the 1886 Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper, which states that “[numura] at the time of printing, the beast did not see its shadow”, while officially this day has been celebrated since 1887. Punxsutawney Spirit editor Clymer Fries is credited with the idea for Groundhog Day. The groundhog itself was given the name Phil in 1961, possibly in indirect homage to Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, although the Groundhog Club itself claims that it is in honor of “King Philip”, although it is not clear who the person is.
According to the results of the 2010 census, less than 6,000 people live in Punxatonia, but on Groundhog Day their number increases to 40,000. The popularity of the city was given a huge boost by the 1993 film “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray and Andy McDowell, where the main character is forced to live on February 2nd every day – already the following year the number of visitors to the celebration increased fivefold.
However, not knowing how much fame the film would bring to the town, officials forbade the use of the real Phil for filming, expressing outrage that another town was being used for filming.
Today, Phil’s popularity is also evidenced by the fact that he has his own website, there are various fan pages, and major television channels and news agencies inform about his predictions.
Interestingly, Bill Murray himself did not fare well with the groundhog during filming, it bit him several times, so the actors had to be vaccinated against rabies. And in general, Murray did not see the filming process itself, during which he managed to quarrel with the director Harold Ramis and then did not speak to him for 20 years. True, the relationship with the groundhog later improved to the extent that Murray starred with him in a “Jeep” commercial a few years ago.
Incidentally, the film’s popularity introduced the popular term “groundhog day” to describe a situation in which undesirable or boring events repeat themselves over and over again – something similar to the French term “déjà vu”.
Interestingly, before becoming a celebrity, the weather forecaster was… just food. Before the townspeople realized its commercial value and removed it from the menu, groundhogs were served as a special local delicacy. Pennsylvania historian Christopher Davis wrote that diners of cooked groundhog meat were pleased with its tenderness.
It can’t be said that before the film, Phil didn’t enjoy widespread popularity. Already in 1960, he appeared on the “Today” show, but in 1986 he visited the White House, where he was received by the US President Ronald Reagan himself. In 1995, Phil appeared on television legend Oprah Winfrey’s show.
Phil the Groundhog of Punxsatonia predicts the weather
+16 Watch more
Little Matthew’s warm friendship with groundhogs
+20 Watch more
Marmots in the Alsung nursery
+11 Watch more
Various interesting cases are reported on the page of the Groundhog Club of Punxatonia. For example, during the period of the “dry law”, Phil threatened to send the community 60 weeks of winter if they did not give him a drink. In 1981, Phil wore a yellow ribbon in honor of the American hostages in Iran. In 1998, Phil’s prophecy was streamed live on the Internet for the first time. Danny Rabin, screenwriter of the movie “Groundhog Day” took part in the 2013 celebration.
Groundhog Day celebrations have experienced various turns. For example, in 1943 the event was canceled during the Second World War, after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York and Washington, the following year’s celebrations and the many visitors were protected by police units, the National Guard and specially trained dogs. COVID-19 introduced its own adjustments, forcing the participants to use masks for the 2021 celebration, the event was held behind closed doors without fans.
Although the club claims that Phil is immortal because he drank the elixir of immortality and therefore has been the same predictor all these years, groundhogs are known to live up to six years in the wild, but up to 14 in captivity. According to the official version, Phil has a wife Phyllis, but she is not eternal, so it is not clear how many wives Phil has survived in his more than 130 years of “life”.
“York Daily Record” statistics show that Phil saw the shadow 107 times, but promised a mere 20 in the early spring, while the result of 10 years is not recorded. Last year he saw a shadow and predicted a long winter. Of course, the Groundhog Club of Pennsylvania claims that all predictions are accurate, only that their interpretation is sometimes faltering, while various more serious evaluators estimate their accuracy to be less than 50%. In a sense, the fact that it is not clear what “early spring” means is also a problem. For example, in the case of Phil’s competitor, Chuck, a groundhog living in Staten Island, New York, a more objective criterion is used, namely, the average temperature of most days in New York above 4 degrees Celsius between February 2 and the beginning of astronomical spring. Interestingly, Canada also has its own national weather forecaster, Willie the Groundhog.
As for the accuracy of Phil’s predictions, that’s not the most important thing, the main thing is the event, the fun and the tourists attracted. And as long as Phil lives in Punksatonia, there’s no need to worry about that.
2024-02-02 17:14:46
#Groundhog #Day #worlds #famous #forecaster #promise #arrival #spring
