thoughtcrumbs

Punxsutawney phake

Turns out Punxsutawney Phil, the "prognosticating marmot" isn't really 121 years old. (So says the Post-Gazette.) And this year, Phil's a girl. Though the Punxsutawney tourism board would like you to believe the animal sips an elixir of life, really, they just get a new groundhog as needed. Especially when that groundhog has an early morning interview with Regis Philbin. According to the article:

"When they needed a groundhog for Groundhog Day, they got a guy with a backhoe to dig one up," said Mr. Herring. "The one they dug up died and they needed another one." The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium doesn't keep a groundhog, but one happily hibernating at the 35-acre walk-through zoo in Fayette County had an open schedule, at least until March. Mr. Herring says sometime before Groundhog Eve, he and a couple of helpers dug her up.

Not that we've had much of a winter so far (methinks those climate scientists are on to something with this whole global warming thing), but I'm perfectly happy Phil didn't see his/her shadow.