Another Groundhog Day has come again, and the legendary Punxsutawney Phil has predicted six more weeks of winter after he saw his shadow upon exiting his den just after sunrise Friday morning.
The tradition of Groundhog Day is centuries-strong, and as it turns out Phil’s decision to see his shadow (or not) has very little connection with the realities of our changing weather patterns; some sites suggest he has only been correct less than 40% of the time over his ongoing tenure as a prognosticator. But that hasn’t stopped the Groundhog Day ritual from going strong. And of course the internet had plenty of thoughts and feelings about this year’s prediction of more cold weather to come.
And one helpful account even provided some fun facts. Did you know groundhogs are sometimes called “whistlepigs?”
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Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com