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Though the official party line from Phil's people in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, would have us believe there is only one Phil and he is more than 100 years old, we find that a bit hard to swallow. Unfortunately, numerous searches on the furry forecaster, whose full title is "Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary," failed to turn up an answer to your question. Undeterred by this massive cover-up, we're attempting an educated guess. First a few facts... - Phil made his first
official appearance in 1887.
- Groundhogs are also known as woodchucks.
- The average lifespan of a woodchuck is 8 to 9 years.
Now let's do the math... 2002 (current year) - 1887 (first appearance) = 115
115 (years) / 8 (years per groundhog) = 14.375 Rounding off to the nearest whole groundhog, that leaves us with 14. Throw in a few extra (you never know what kind of mishaps may have befallen some of Phil's predecessors) and we come up with 16 Punxsutawney Phils to date. Mind you, this is only a rough
estimate and certainly not conclusive beyond a shadow of a doubt!
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