Punxsutawney Phil is preparing for the annual Groundhog Day prediction.
While we wait to hear if he sees his shadow or not, here is everything you might want to know know about the famous groundhog.
He is groundhog known by many names.
His full name is Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.
But Phil wasn’t even his original name. In the early years of Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney referred to him as Br’er Groundhog. The club says he was later named after King Phillip.
Groundhog Day: How do you know if Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow?
How do we know if he saw his shadow?
Phil does not speak English. Thankfully, his handlers are fluent in Groundhogese. After Phil emerges from his stump the morning of Feb. 2, he speaks with the handlers in a series of clicks and chirps.
Phil is always right …
or at least that’s what the Groundhog Club Inner Circle says. They blame any potential errors on interpretation from Groundhogese to English.
According to our calculations, Phil and his translators have been right about 65 percent of the time since 1898.
Phil isn’t your average groundhog.
Phil weighs 20 pounds and is 22 inches long, while most groundhogs are about 15 pounds and 20 inches long.
In addition, most groundhogs live about seven years. The Groundhog Club members give Phil a “magical punch” every summer to prolong his life by seven more years. They say there has only been one Phil since Punxsutawney began celebrating the holiday 131 years ago.
That magical elixir, however, doesn’t appear to work on humans.
“We’ve tried, it just makes them fat and bald,” co-handler Ron Ploucha told PennLive. “If you saw some of our Inner Circle members you can tell the ones that tried.”
What it’s like to handle Punxsutawney Phil (it’s a dangerous Groundhog Day task!) Betist
He bites.
The groundhog’s handlers wear chainmail gloves to protect themselves from Phil’s large teeth when they anticipate he might put up a fight.
What does Phil do in between Groundhog Days?
He lives with his wife, Phyllis, in a burrow at Barclay Square next to the Punxsutawney Memorial Library. Visitors can see him at 301 E. Mahoning St. most of the year.
Phil has also gotten involved in politics — even threatening 60 weeks of winter if he couldn’t get a drink during Prohibition — and claimed to have made two trips to the moon.
That wasn’t Phil in “Groundhog Day.”
The Punxsutawney groundhog did not make an appearance in the movie that brought fame to his small town (even though it was filmed in Woodstock, Illinois).
A groundhog named Scooter and five understudies filled in for Phil on set. Of course, Scooter wasn’t used to the spotlight and demands of being a movie star. He bit Bill Murray during the stolen truck scene. Groundhog trainer Bill Hoffmann said Murray bought shark-wrangling gloves to wear the next day.
Phil loves granola bars.
Handler Ron Ploucha said oat and honey granola bars are Phil’s favorite. You might also see him munching on kale.
There is a Philmobile.
When Punxsutawney Phil has to be transported from his burrow to an event, he gets put on this little bus with some members of the inner circle. A special groundhog seat on the outside of the Philmobile makes him easy to spot during parades.
This story is partly adapted from 2016’s All you ever need to know about Punxsutawney Phil and 2013’s 10 bits of Punxsutawney Phil trivia.
More Groundhog Day coverage:
How often is Phil correct? An analysis of predictions since 1898
What does Phil do besides predict the weather?
2 Punxsutawneys: Compare ‘Groundhog Day’ film locations to the real town
Groundhog Day
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