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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060202/ap_ ... undhog_day
cool tradition really

How can you fail to see your own shadow

How can you fail to see your own shadow

Yeah....we were talking about this in our Chemistry class today.....our teacher (who is American) considred this to be silly....

Yeah....we were talking about this in our Chemistry class today.....our teacher (who is American) considred this to be silly....

If it's sufficiently overcast, the sunlight will be so diffuse that you won't cast a very distinct shadow. So I guess the reasoning is that if that particular day is sunny(in the general vicinity of Gobbler's Knob), it most likely means more cold and probably nasty weather. How that's figured, i don't know... but having lived in the NE US all my life, I have certainly seen what appears to be an early end to winter turn into a last devastating salvo of freezing temps and lots of snow. It ain't over around here until the first two weeks of April, and even then we might get a freak blizzard. I remember being snowed in once on Easter Sunday, probably around 1970 (No church! hooray!).
See here that it's a German tradition... didn't know that. That would explain the Pennsylvanian thing.

Never bothered to check Punxatawnee Phil's track record (as regards predicting weather, not seeing his shadow), but I'm sure there's a website devoted to that.

What's actually very silly about this is that groundhogs can't see very well- probably wouldn't know what he's seeing on a sunny day, let alone a cloudy one.
Obviously someone else spots his shadow for him and reports it, because last time I checked, groundhogs don't speak very well either... kinda quiet.

I've never heard of groundhog day. but that's gotta be the dumbest way I've ever seen someone try to forcast the weather

Goundhogday is a complete load of crap. Who even watches T.V. to see if the stupid rodent sees his shadow or not? If it was up to me I wouldn't even waste the ink to put "Groundhog day" on a calender.

I think it's just as stupid as the easter bunny. they literally hold the groundhog by it's lower body so it hangs and sees its shadow.

and this is officialy done in the UK somewhere... i think greenwich (don't quote me on this)(sorry for the misspell)

the only way this rodent can't see it's shadow is if it's dark and cloudy or he's blind... seriously folks

but hey i just got 15 cheesburgers for wicked cheap at McD, so something good did come out of this!!!

ramos

Me thinks some of you need to lighten up a little a see the funny side and the tradition behind it.

And see the movie Groundhog Day, it's very funny!  Pity they can't make decent movies like that one very often.

Gryshnak

I think it's just as stupid as the easter bunny. they literally hold the groundhog by it's lower body so it hangs and sees its shadow.

and this is officialy done in the UK somewhere... i think greenwich (don't quote me on this)(sorry for the misspell)

Er, not as far as I'm aware it isn't!  I live about 10 miles from Greenwich and while it is home of the Prime Meridian I don't think that we have imported this particular custom yet.  I'm sure we will though, we seem to have managed to get most US customs here eventually.  One of these days they'll introduce independence day as a British Bank Holiday!

and this is officialy done in the UK somewhere... i think greenwich (don't quote me on this)(sorry for the misspell)

First I've heard of it. I don't think we have groundhogs in the UK. This is a 100% Yank thing.

I enjoyed the film all the same.

First I've heard of it. I don't think we have groundhogs in the UK. This is a 100% Yank thing.

Don't know how far they range, but I've never heard of them in the UK either,or Europe, for that matter. They're kind of like big fat squirrels , or actually more like extremely fat gophers. The Northeast US is loaded with 'em.They are masters of burrowing, hibernating, and in a pinch, can really scoot up a tree... when I was a kid, my dog "treed" one once: first time I'd ever seen one up a tree; didn't know they could do that.  He was a big one, all right, and I pitied him, hanging on for dear life halfway up the trunk, trying to turn his head to make sure the silly dog couldn't jump any higher. I dragged her away and eventually he clambered down and waddled away. Needless to say, these guys can decimate a vegetable garden, and I've certainly tripped over my share of burrow-entrances in my day... their burrows are sometimes very extensive, multi-level complexes.

It's a quaint custom, this GHD thing, but I'm sure Phil has no interest in the weather in February: "First of all, people, I don't care if it's going to stay cold, I'm hiberbating for the duration... and what are all of you doing out of your burrows on a day like this? Are you all insane?!"

 

I enjoyed the film all the same.

Great movie... one of my favorites. Really made me wonder what I would do in such a situation...

Dunno,but I think they are called wombats in Australia.
Too much sun over here to worry about shadows and winter but they may be a tad bigger than your average groundhog. I mean hitting one will take out the front end of your Chevy

hence the "dont quote me"

y'know it's hard to get 6 more weeks of winter, i still havent seen the first  weeks

Ramos
PS actually it just started snowing as i posted this

Funny you should mention this, yesterday afternoon at school I'd helped Ed (my fellow ex-pat) to show the film Groundhog day at school (I've got the film) as we both lived in the US as kids and always find this whole Phil the groundhog and his shadow thing funny.
Everyone had a really good time and the students really enjoyed it (I have to admit this is one of my favourite Bill Murray films)