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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Feb 2, 2016
February 2, 2016
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Groundhog Day:
They've been celebrating this thing in Puxatawney, PA, about an hour northeast of Pittsburgh, since 1886 --2016 will mark the 130th Groundhog Day. The Groundhog legend is based on an old Scottish rhyme: "If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year." February second used to be referred to as Candlemas, and German tradition holds that if the sun comes out on Candlemas, the hedgehog (or badger) will see its shadow and six more weeks of winter will follow. When German settlers came to Pennsylvania they continued this tradition, using groundhogs instead of hedgehogs to predict the weather.
Phil's record:
Phil has forecast more winter 102 times while forecasting an early spring just 17 times. There are no records for the remaining years.
Totally useless Groundhog trivia:
1. Horniness and hunger are the elements that determine a Groundhogs behavior. Weather has nothing to do with it. National Geographic says male groundhogs come out of their burrows to start searching for female groundhogs. They're first; the females come out a week or so later and stay near --just outside or maybe just inside-- their burrows. Then, in March, they all emerge together, and that's when the mating happens --and quickly, since the males know exactly where the females are.
2. Scientific studies over a 60 year period show that the Groundhogs accuracy in forecasting the onset of Spring is only 28 percent. Oddly enough, the National Weather Service only has a 31 percent accuracy, so there.Money Talks:
What's the most valuable company in the United States? If you said "Apple," you'd have been right yesterday --but in late, after hours trading, Alphabet, Incorporated --the new name for Google-- passed Apple to take the top spot.
How much is it worth? Bloomberg says Alphabet is worth roughly $570-billion dollars to Apple's $535-billion. -
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