Punxsutawney Phil, When He’s Not Predicting the Weather, Is Active as a Local Mascot Year Round

Legendary stand-up comedian George Carlin once asked a very important question as part of his stand-up: "What do dogs do on their day off?" He went on to say that they "can't lie around — that's their job!"

And with Groundhog Day approaching, a lot of people are wondering just what the heck Punxsutawney Phil is doing the rest of the year when he is or isn't seeing his shadow.

When it comes to hitting the jackpot as a groundhog, it doesn't get much better than the kind of life the rodent selected to be Punxsutawney Phil enjoys.

When he isn't predicting the weather, Phil still enjoys his status as a local celebrity in the southern Jefferson County, Penn. borough.

Phil has a dedicated, man-made burrow that he lives in with his wife, Phyllis. As Punxsutawney's mascot, he often makes "appearances at schools, parades, or at professional sporting events as a guest of honor," according to ABC4.

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club also writes that in his time off, Phil enjoys reading a "good book" as well as the "daily newspaper" so he can keep up on the latest current events.

So while he's most known for that fateful day which lets everyone know whether or not our winter's going to be longer or shorter for the year, he keeps a pretty busy schedule. Especially for a groundhog.

The tradition dates back to Feb. 2, 1887, at Gobbler's Knob, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and the festivities more or less haven't changed since then. Phil emerges from his hole and if he sees his shadow, he retreats. This means that winter weather will persist for six more weeks.

If he doesn't see his shadow and decides to stay outside, then that means we'll have an early spring. And while the tradition first started in America 13 years before the turn of the century, its roots extend further back than that.

Groundhog Day is actually rooted in the Christian celebration Candlemas, where church clergy members would distribute blessed candles to parishioners. The duration that these candles lasted were supposed to indicate how long the winter would be.

Germanic Christians decided to put their own twist on the holiday and got a hedgehog involved to play out the same scenario as Punxsutawney's beloved Phil.

And when German immigrants started coming over to Pennsylvania from overseas, they brought their Candlemas tradition with them.

However, instead of a hedgehog, they decided to use a groundhog instead, given that the creatures were abundant in the region.

So how did the legend of Punxsutawney Phil start? That's all thanks to a group of groundhog hunters known as the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

In an 1887 newspaper piece, the club declared that Phil was the only groundhog in America that could predict the weather. Furthermore, the club, which still exists today, maintains that Phil is immortal as he was able to drink the elixir of life that prevents him from dying.

USA Today writes that "according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Phil has a 35 percent overall accuracy rating over 135 years."

Meaning that he's less reliable in predicting the weather as a coin toss. However, he is inarguably cuter than a quarter.

Furthermore, the outlet writes that he's not the only weather-predicting rodent. Buckeye Chuck from Ohio is actually right 75 percent of the time.

You could rely on these creatures to plan for the upcoming extended winter or early spring. Or, you could assess weather patterns and use that instead. But where's the fun in that?