8 More Reasons To Hope the Groundhog Doesn't See His Shadow

This Saturday, superstitious Americans and fans of folklore will sit rapt, waiting for a corpulent, beaver-like rodent to stick his head out of his burrow in upstate New York.

So the tradition goes, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow and returns to his burrow, there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't, we'll have an early spring.

I, for one, am not sure I can take six more weeks of subzero temperatures. The Atlantic Monthly has put together a list of the eight cities with the crummiest winters, but Minneapolis is only a runner-up for "Snowiest." Truly, they haven't been out here lately, but I will have some sympathy for New Yorkers and their yellow-grey snow if Phil turns tail on Sunday.

If your idea of celebrating Groundhog Day involves more than scrounging for an extra pair of long underwear, however, we've cobbled together a list of five little-known facts about the day for you to enjoy. (Example: Phil is married, potentially proving Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) right, at least in part)

Last year, Linden Hills' Creative Kidstuff shared these five ways to celebrate Groundhog Day with your kids. Our favorite, based on sheer strangeness? Groundhog-shaped meatloaf. One look at that picture, and you can start to imagine the dinner table conversations: "Daddy? Did you bake the cat?!"