• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Science / How accurate is the official groundhog Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day?

How accurate is the official groundhog Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day?

July 20, 2020 by Karen Hill

Over the last sixty years, the average accuracy rate for groundhogs on Groundhog Day has only been about 28 percent.

Punxsutawney Phil’s got a slightly more impressive record—he predicts correctly about 39 percent of the time.

Maybe they’re using the wrong animal for the job. The original “groundhog” wasn’t a groundhog at all, but a badger.

The tradition is a German one, and when German immigrants came to America, they couldn’t find a stinkin’ badger in all of Pennsylvania (at least not any that looked like their Old World variety), so they had to settle for the much more common groundhog.

Related Facts

  • How Did Groundhog Day Originate and What Is the Religious Significance of Groundhog Day?
  • How Accurate is the Groundhog Day Forecast and Where Did the Holiday Come From?
  • How Many Official Languages Does Canada Have and Is English Canada's Official Language?
  • How did the Groundhog get its name and Where does the word Groundhog come from?
  • When was the first Groundhog Day celebration and who created it?
  • Was the sundial the first accurate clock invented?

Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How can you use a cat to tell what the temperature is?
Next Post: If the Earth is getting hotter from global warming why are winters colder? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy