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By the Numbers: Groundhog Day

February 17, 2020

By Dana Najjar

It may seem silly to base weather predictions on a furry animal. But for almost 150 years, Americans have turned to a rodent to see when winter would end! According to a German legend brought over by settlers, if a groundhog emerging from its burrow on the second of February doesn’t see its shadow, spring will come early. But if it does, we’re in for 6 more weeks of winter. Unsurprisingly, Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil and other famous groundhogs aren’t always accurate, but it’s fun to see their furry faces!

Read on to learn more about groundhogs and the February 2 holiday. Then plug in the numbers to solve the equation below and reveal a final fact.

1/3

Visuals Unlimited/NaturePL

Fraction of its weight a groundhog can eat each day—except when they’re hibernating! That’d be 275 carrots a day for a 14-year-old human.

150

Ingo Arndt/Minden Pictures

Average number of days groundhogs spend hibernating every winter

33

Number of syllables in Punxsutawney Phil’s full title:

1887

Shutterstock.com

Year of the first official Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

40,000

Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo

Approximate number of people who show up to see Punxsutawney Phil every year.

Algebra

Order of Operations

Jeff Swensen/Getty Images (Punxsutawney Phil)

Text-to-Speech