Groundhogs are Important to Science, But Not for Weather Forecasting

Coming up Sunday we have the only holiday dedicated to a rodent. Groundhog Day is actually about the weather, which we are more interested in than rodents this time of year, but in the United States, we have designated the groundhog as the animal most likely to forecast the weather for the rest of the winter.

The species Marmota monax goes by many names, but they are mostly called groundhogs these days, especially since that 1993 movie made the creature world famous. Groundhogs have been important in science, but not so much in meteorology. Groundhogs aren't all that great at weather forecasting. However, they have made a name in archaeology, since they are experts at digging, and in medical research, where they shine as research subjects. Savannah Geary of SciShow explains how valuable groundhogs really are. There's a 40-second ad at 3:33. The video actually ends at 8:32, but you'll be glad you continued watching after that. It will eventually make sense, except for that part where she takes a swig of what appears to be pickle juice.


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guv'nor*

With the "67" thing I think he's trying to suggest that people in the UK will talk a load of (to foreigners) incomprehensible bollocks, then conclude with "and Bob's your uncle" as if that makes everything hunky-dory. He forgets that the whole phrase is "Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt", and that "fanny" in the UK means something entirely different than it does in the US (as a kid, when I first heard the phrase, "sit on your big, fat fanny", I nearly died of shock and laughter).

As for "Texan English": shoot 'em, and when you can't shoot 'em, hang 'em, then hang 'em again and when you can't hang 'em or otherwise pretend to have a criminal justice system worthy of the name, and you've already tried to sue them for messin with Texas, claim "Houston" was the first word said on the moon, all the while not knowing that it actually refers to this place:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston,_Renfrewshire
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Note to self: don't come home from the pub at 2 in the morning and start replying to articles in Neatorama because then everybody will think that people from the UK do talk a load of incomprehensible bollocks. Apologies.
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