Quebec's beloved Fred la Marmotte dies on Groundhog Day
Fred la Marmotte, Quebec’s beloved groundhog who predicts whether spring will come early, was found dead early Thursday, just hours before he was supposed to perform his annual ritual.
“This year, things will be done differently,” said la Jour de Fred committee organizer Roberto Blondin on the event’s livestream.
“I’m announcing the death of Fred. It’s sadly true.”
Children and adults attending the early morning ceremony gasped when they heard the shocking news.
“Everyone was very sad, you could see it on their faces,” said Renée Laurendeau, a spokesperson for the event, which is held every Feb. 2 in the Gaspé town of Val d’Espoir.
A child attending the ceremony was called in as an emergency replacement. She was handed a stuffed toy groundhog and predicted that winter will continue.
A child attending the ceremony was called in as an emergency replacement. She was handed a stuffed toy groundhog and predicted that winter will continue.
lol
I read that as that she was 'Stuffed inside a toy groundhog' and predicted that winter will continue
Or more poetically - a gamma ray burst.
How Deadly Would a Nearby Gamma Ray Burst Be? | News | Astrobiology
Despite the obvious doom and gloom associated with mass extinctions, they have a tendency to capture our imagination. After all, the sudden demise of the dinosaurs, presumably due to an asteroid strike, is quite an enthralling story.
But not all mass extinctions are quite as dramatic and not all have an easily identified culprit. The Ordovician extinction — one of the “big five” in Earth’s history — occurred around 450 million years ago when the population of marine species plummeted. Evidence suggests that this occurred during an ice age and a gamma ray burst is one of several possible mechanisms that may have triggered this extinction event.
This guy hated his job so much he died rather than go to work 1 day a year
I don't know all of what's coming down the pipeline, but I gotta say this seems like it will be a more fitting omen than the shadow/no shadow mechanism ever could be
Fred la Marmotte
Translated to English this means Fred the Marmot
My favorite type of marmot is the Hoary Marmot
May I recommend the Olympic Marmot (presumably named for its proficiency in the shot put)
So far I like the Vancouver Island Marmot.
For your video...It works on mouse over but not at the site.Log in to watch.
If there was ever anything worth logging into video for its a video of a large Groundhog screaming in the forest
This is why Puxtawny Phil has never died. Rumors that he is replaced with another groundhog if the original dies are untrue. Born in 1886, still around.
"Come on, babe. Time for your yearly shadow viewing!"
:chomsky-yes-honey:
those french bastards shouldn’t have force fed the groundhog.
He's like :pete: but for groundhogs instead of dogs
