Groundhog

[ratatosk]

So, as you no doubt read on Thursday, Punxsutawney Phil issued the following proclamation:

"As I look at the crowd on Gobbler's Knob
Many Shadows do I see
So six more weeks of winter it must be."

Huh.

Now, the historical record of groundhog predictions is full of strange little notes hinting that the doings of the people of Punxsutawney are

Comments

[sovay]

the article on the Gävle Goat

One of the best presents I have ever received was from fleurdelis28, who painted me a little watercolor Yule Goat and then labeled it חַד גַדְיָא (Chad Gadya). She even hid it in the house so that I would discover it unawares, in accordance with tradition. Fortunately, it has not (yet) burnt down.

[edit]

"Unfortunate meeting with a skunk"!

[ratatosk]

"Unfortunate meeting with a skunk"!

I love that the list format leaves this at the same level of importance as, say, meeting with the president in the White House.

[sovay]

I love that the list format leaves this at the same level of importance as, say, meeting with the president in the White House.

To be fair, I would consider an unfortunate encounter with a skunk extremely memorable, and meeting with the President is also one of those things that is supposed to stick in people's minds.

Chad Gadya

[ratatosk]

Oh! I forgot to reply to this . . . I asked Nurit to translate "Chad Gadya", not thinking it might be a Google-able phrase. She made me listen to many different versions on YouTube. There were some disturbing animations.

I guess anything that has a cat eating a goat is kind of asking for it.

[squirrelitude]

If the groundhog makes a binary decision and is only right 39% of the time, then by inverting his declarations we get a whopping 61% accuracy!

[gee_tar]

I never quite got Groundhog Day. Shouldn't we always be getting seven more weeks of winter? I mean, we've nailed the astronomical definition down for a few centuries (if not millennia) now.

[ratatosk]

Sure, sure. Who are you going to trust? Some astronomer who tells you "The stars are right, and spring shall return!!!!", or a cute furry animal?