Happy Wednesday! It’s Feb.2 , Groundhog day! Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow or will we get six more weeks of winter?
Fun Fact: In honour of Groundhog day, here are some facts about the animal, the celebration and the movie.
- Groundhogs are the largest species of the squirrel family.
- They are extremely intelligent when it comes to their communication as they’re able to understand social behavior and communicate by whistling.
- Groundhogs are one of the few animals that truly hibernate for the winter. It typically lasts 150 days. In that time, they lose a fourth of their body weight and their heart rate can get as low as five beats per minute.
- Their burrows are so complex that they build their own bathroom. There have been burrows found that go six feet deep and cover 20 feet of ground.
- Groundhogs are also known as Woodchucks. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Approximately 700 pounds, according New York wildlife technican Richard Thomas. He founded this in 1988.
- The largest Groundhog Day celebration in the world is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania every year. Today is the 136th annual event. It averaged around 2,000 in attendance every year until 1993 when the movie Groundhog Day came out. Now crowds as large as 40,000 gather, which is eight times the town’s population.
- Groundhog Day made $70 million.
On this day:
In 1964, the original line of G.I. Joe action figures were released.
National Holidays:
According to National Holiday, today is National Girls and Women in Sports day. It is also National Tater Tot Day and National Ukulele Day.
Weather forecast from Environment Canada:
In Kelowna
In Penticton
In Revelstoke
In Salmon Arm
In Vernon
In case you missed it:
More condos in downtown Kelowna? It’s being proposed, learn more here.
Nearly $50,000 has been raised for a Vernon mother recovering from a medical emergency. Learn more here.
A Revelstoke cross-country skier will represent Canada at the 2022 World Ski Championships in Norway. Learn more here.
Trending:
No short, flashy video or trend today. Yesterday the greatest football player, maybe even athlete of all time retired and that needs to be recognized. The amount of records is insane but here’s one of the best statistics: There have been 55 Super Bowls. Tom Brady has played in 10 of them (17.9% of all Super Bowls) and has won seven of them (12.7%). 22 seasons, Seven championships, happy retirement Tom Brady!
https://twitter.com/JeffDarlington/status/1488527609910677520
Celebrity birthdays:
If today is your birthday, you share a birthday with: singer Sharika (45), actress Julia Fox (32), reality TV star Duane Chapman - Dog the Bounty Hunter (69) and model Christie Brinkley (68)
That’s all for today folks, have a great day and stay warm!
@cunninghamjordy
jordy.cunningham@kelownacapnews.com
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