Do you think this hoary marmot in Alaska’s Denali National Park is wondering whether its relative, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow today? Groundhog Day is an American tradition that originated among the Pennsylvania Dutch, but groundhogs aren’t the only animals believed to predict the weather. It’s said you can predict the severity of an upcoming winter by examining the stripes on a woolly bear caterpillar’s back. And in Germany, folks once looked to the badger to forecast the coming of spring. But no furry prognosticator of the weather has gained as much fame as Punxsutawney Phil. Perhaps we have Bill Murray to thank for that? (Be right back, got to cue up Murray’s film ‘Groundhog Day.’) Say, do you ever have déjà vu? Wait, did we just ask you that?
Groundhog Day arrives—beyond a shadow of a doubt
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
World Wildlife Day
-
It s tree-climbing season
-
Festivus
-
Astronomy Day
-
Duck, duck. duck, duck, duck...
-
A wonderland in winter
-
International Literacy Day
-
Lavender fields on the Valensole Plateau in Provence, France
-
The otherworldly red river
-
Summer winds down in the Southern Hemisphere
-
A truly American monument
-
World Bicycle Day
-
Prayer flags in Phobjikha Valley, Bhutan
-
Celebrating the International Day of Forests
-
Upstate autumn
-
Flock online for the Great Backyard Bird Count
-
Maloja, Switzerland
-
Collared aracari in Costa Rica
-
The call of the wild in Alaska
-
Whooper swans in Lake Kussharo, Japan
-
Time to count some birds
-
Composite image of a lunar eclipse
-
Edinburgh festivals
-
World Art Day
-
Across the great plains of Africa
-
Mardi Gras
-
Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, East Java, Indonesia
-
Groundhog Day
-
Poinsettia Day
-
Al-Khazneh in Petra, Jordan