Dear Tina - Groundhog Day

By +Tina Cruris

Dear Tina, I am confused about the whole groundhog day thing. What does his shadow have to do with the weather? Can those guys in hats really speak groundhogese? Is Phil really 126 years old? It seems to me that those old farts in the hats are just trying to perpetuate a stupid tourist tradition so that they only have to work for 1 week per year.

Sincerely, Anti-Groundhog Girl

Dear Tina - Groundhog Day

By +Tina Cruris

Dear Tina, I am confused about the whole groundhog day thing. What does his shadow have to do with the weather? Can those guys in hats really speak groundhogese? Is Phil really 126 years old? It seems to me that those old farts in the hats are just trying to perpetuate a stupid tourist tradition so that they only have to work for 1 week per year.

Sincerely, Anti-Groundhog Girl

The penguin flies again

By +Ian C

Some would say that the title of this post is purely metaphorical since penguins can't fly, [proof] and that we needed something eye-catching in this clickbait world of alternate facts. However there is a small group of Adélie penguins who have (re)gained the power of flight. When the extreme weather in the Antarctic becomes too harsh even for these hardy little birds, they take flight and head north to the southern tip of South America until the weather becomes livable again.

Flying Adélie Penguins filmed by the BBC

Dear Tina - Groundhog Day

By +Tina Cruris

Dear Tina, I am confused about the whole groundhog day thing. What does his shadow have to do with the weather? Can those guys in hats really speak groundhogese? Is Phil really 126 years old? It seems to me that those old farts in the hats are just trying to perpetuate a stupid tourist tradition so that they only have to work for 1 week per year.

Sincerely, Anti-Groundhog Girl

New Species African Golden Wolf discovered

By +Ian C

So often we are hearing about tragedies in the animal kingdom, such as extinctions, so when a new species is discovered we get rather excited about it. This is absolutely the case with the African Golden Wolf, which was recently discovered in Africa.

The African Golden Wolf looks more like a fox

Benedict Cumberbatch can't say 'penguin'

By +Alexa Rankin

In 2009, the sexy voiced Benedict Cumberbatch narrated a BBC documentary called Wild Pacific, which in typical BBC documentary fashion contained some beautiful images and some amazing nature and wildlife footage. The one thing that spoiled it was Benedict's inability to correctly pronounce the word 'penguin'. For many, this may not be a big issue, but for someone who is intrinsically linked with the monochromed flightless bird it's a deal breaker.

Benedict Cumberbatch dressed like a pengwing pengling penguin

The return of the OxterBug

By +Tina Cruris

It would seem that I am becoming the resident entomologist at STP, with my post about avoiding mosquito bites last month and now this story about the resurgence of an insect thought to be eradicated. The Axilla Beetle also known as the OxterBug is a parasitic insect related to the head louse, which makes it's home in the human armpit, feeding on the blood of the host and laying it's eggs in the humid human equivalent of the Amazon rainforest.

Not to scale - an oxterbug munching a celebrity armpit

Top Ten ways to avoid mosquito bites

By +Tina Cruris

Summer is here and so is the Minnesota state bird. For anybody who lives near still water during a humid and hot summer, you will understand how much of a pain the average everyday mosquito can be. I have researched tirelessly to find the top 10 ways to avoid becoming a tasty mosquito treat this summer.

Top 10 anti mosquito tricks

Dear Tina - Groundhog Day

By +Tina Cruris

Dear Tina, I am confused about the whole groundhog day thing. What does his shadow have to do with the weather? Can those guys in hats really speak groundhogese? Is Phil really 126 years old? It seems to me that those old farts in the hats are just trying to perpetuate a stupid tourist tradition so that they only have to work for 1 week per year.

Sincerely, Anti-Groundhog Girl

Taco Bell unleash new chihuahua mascot

By +Brad Naylor

Do you remember Gidget the Taco Bell dog who became famous across America for the catchphrase "¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!" which means "I want Taco Bell". Gidget was retired from Taco Bell duty in 2003 amidst claims of animal cruelty and forced cannibalism from people who believed that the dog actually ate Taco Bell food. Taco Bell say he was retired because sales were falling.

Gidget retired in 2003

Dolphins versus surfers situation escalates

By +Ian C

Man and maritime mammals have not always seen eye to eye and the fake fish are trying to exert their sea-superiority once more. Not since 2010 when we reported on the Whale War have humans been directly threatened by their piscine peers.

Dolphins versus Surfers

Conjoined Prairie Dogs Celebrate 2nd Birthday

By +Alexa Rankin

2 years ago today, prairie dogs Nibbles and Scooter were born. This in itself may not seem amazing until you learn that Nibbles and Scooter were born conjoined. Twins connected in the womb at the nose. Think of them as a variation on the Siamese squirrel theme.

Conjoined Prairie Dogs - Nibbles and Scooter

Dear Tina - Groundhog Day

By +Tina Cruris

Dear Tina, I am confused about the whole groundhog day thing. What does his shadow have to do with the weather? Can those guys in hats really speak groundhogese? Is Phil really 126 years old? It seems to me that those old farts in the hats are just trying to perpetuate a stupid tourist tradition so that they only have to work for 1 week per year.

Sincerely, Anti-Groundhog Girl

Panda vs Penguin

by +Ian C

They are both black and white, they are both cute and they have both been adopted by Google as code words for algorithms used to filter out spam websites. The internet giant chose the animals for their soft friendly appearance and their monochromatic coloring, to reinforce the contrast between black hat and white hat SEO (search engine optimization).

Panda, Penguin and Google

Dear Tina - Groundhog Day

Dear Tina, I am confused about the whole groundhog day thing. What does his shadow have to do with the weather? Can those guys in hats really speak groundhogese? Is Phil really 126 years old? It seems to me that those old farts in the hats are just trying to perpetuate a stupid tourist tradition so that they only have to work for 1 week per year.

Sincerely, Anti-Groundhog Girl

Punxsutawney Phil says 'Screw That'

Philadelphia's resident rodent, Punxsy Phil the groundhog refused to come out of his snow covered tree stump at Gobbler's Knob this morning, creating Groundhog Day confusion about the next six weeks of weather.

Archive image of a snowless Gobbler's Knob