Tomorrow is Groundhog Day and it got me thinking….
For those of you who are unaware, Groundhog Day is when the groundhog (‘Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary’) comes out of its hole at the end of hibernation. If the animal sees its shadow, as in, it’s sunny or whatever, it is said to predict six more weeks of cold, snow, and gloom. And if it doesn’t… warm weather ahead!
Fucking weird tradition right?
How in the ever living hell is a small, burrowing, hibernating, rodent supposed to accurately predict the weather? It doesn’t even make sense. It’s not even a really viable form of weather prediction. This tiny creature comes out of its burrow and it’s all: “Oh, my shadow, oh noo, eek!” Before going back to bed [insert eye roll here].
This random chance even of how sunny it is, is somehow able to predict how close we are to having our snow thaw, and spring begin. A fucking rodent; and maybe some clouds. (This is notably highly inaccurate and my local weather network has been scoring better since they were created, ‘cause y’know science!)
I understand that way back when, ancient humans were inclined to use animals and their instincts as a way of understanding and surviving, and a hibernating creature going back to sleep might have been seen as a warning sign of continued winter. However, this is neither ancient times, nor has it proven reliable. Unlike other unreliable things we are not doing away with this tradition.
Kenfyoozd Bee 