Brooklyn Today for Feb. 2
Good morning. Today is Groundhog Day, based on the old belief that if a groundhog sees his shadow when he emerges on this day, six weeks of winter will ensue. The day is observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, with a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil. Phil made his dramatic film debut with Bill Murray in the movie “Groundhog Day.”
Closer to home, at the Staten Island Zoo, Staten Island Chuck has predicted the weather since 1981. The current incarnation of Chuck was introduced to the zoo in 2007.
Well-known people who were born today include model Christie Brinkley, actor Bo Hopkins, musician-singer Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, journalist Liz Smith, comedian-singer Tom Smothers of “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).