The Visor

Groundhog folklore comes to question

February 3, 2010

Johanna Breiding

Phil has spoken, so let it be written, six more weeks of winter ahead. The iconic groundhog emerged from his tree stump on Tuesday, Feb. 2 to give the cold, patiently awaiting crowd at Gobbler’s Knob the chilling news.

The Punxsutawney Groundhog club has watched Phil predict longer winters 99 times and spring only 15 times in the tradition’s history. Phil has become a source of folklore in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania since the town held its first Groundhog Day in the 1800s. The first official trek to Gobbler’s Knob was made on Feb. 2, 1887.

In the essence of the magic of Groundhog Day, the ‘Inner Circle’ or Phil’s care takers, insisted that there has only ever been one Punxsutawney Phil since 1887. Lore states that Phil’s longevity is from drinking the “elixir of life,” a secret recipe. Phil takes one sip every summer at the Groundhog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life.

Now based on common sense and a little math, with an average life span of a groundhog being eight to nine years and the tradition having started 115 years ago, it works out to be around 14.37 separate groundhogs. However, the question hasn’t been pushed too hard, in order to keep the mystery of Phil’s predictions.

Unfortunately, according to Phil, it’s six more weeks of cold weather ahead, but perhaps since Phil is apparently over 100 years old it can be chalked up to Phil getting a bit confused in his old age.

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