WTF Is Groundhog Day Really?

The short answer with the “groundhog” thing is that if he (the large rodent) sees his shadow, there WILL be six more weeks of winter, but if he does not we can expect spring to come rolling right in. This year, the groundhog saw his shadow predicting six more weeks of winter. F’ing rat! The long story surrounding Groundhog Day is not very interesting. Apparently German tradition says that a hibernating animal casting a shadow on the Christian holiday of Candlemas (February 2nd) is a sure sign that six more weeks of winter will follow. The tradition has been tracked since 1887 and the groundhog has seen his shadow 98 times. Yeah, this is truly Doppler Weather Forecasting for the late 1800s. If you’re as skeptical as I am you’re wondering how often Phil – that’s right folks, this groundhog has a name – has been right about predicting the end of winter. Can you believe he has a 90% accuracy rate! I guess I can go ahead and buy those boots I was on the fence about.

On Blast
What longstanding tradition do you believe in that others would find comical? Does it have a great accuracy record?

Keep passin’ the open windows…