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Groundhog Day Explained
Spoiler alert: Punxsutawney Phil predicts an early spring, having failed to observe his shadow outside his burrow in Gobbler's Knob. And thus, writers worldwide in the US have an obvious topic to cover today! Rejoice!
Judging from the downright balmy 50-degree weather in Portland, Oregon, I suspect Phil is onto something. But where did this pseudo-holiday/tourist attraction come from? And is Punxsutawney Phil the only groundhog in town? Tune in to this classic explainer from C. G. P. Grey for some background -- and plenty of jokes:
We've covered this topic before (ahem, makes a great topic every year!). Check out Where Did Groundhog Day Come From? and The Quick 10: The mental_floss Groundhog Roundup.
Also amazing: Jason Kottke will liveblog the movie Groundhog Day starting at 8:00pm EST today. Ned Ryerson's gonna tune in -- will you?