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Punxsutawney Phil: How Accurate Is The Rodent?

Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter on Monday morning, making him the least popular rodent in America. The groundhog was accompanied by his top hat-wearing Inner Circle when he suppos...
Punxsutawney Phil: How Accurate Is The Rodent?
Written by Lacy Langley
  • Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter on Monday morning, making him the least popular rodent in America.

    The groundhog was accompanied by his top hat-wearing Inner Circle when he supposedly saw his shadow.

    The ceremony on Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania with Punxsutawney Phil was attended by around 11,000 freezing people.

    It hardly seems fair. Since 1887, Punxsutawney Phil has predicted more winter 102 times while forecasting an early spring only 17 times.

    The Inner Circle announced this year’s prediction in a fun rhyme.

    It said, “Forecasts abound on the Internet, but, I, Punxsutawney Phil am still your best bet. Yes, a shadow I see, you can start to Twitter, hash tag: Six more weeks of winter!”

    Some people weren’t so jolly with Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction.

    Some were happy about it.

    But how often is Punxsutawney Phil actually right?

    In Punxsutawney Phil’s hometown, he is actually right only about 30 percent of the time! However, according to the Washington Post, it’s pretty much random guesses and chance. Obviously.

    They say that, “while Phil was technically right more times than not in some cities (it’s bound to happen in some areas because temperatures across the country do not rise and fall uniformly), the average temperatures between shadow and non-shadow years were slight at best. So, much like how you won your last coin toss, Phil is ‘right’ in these regions because of chance.”

    What is your opinion of Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction?

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