Big Screen Science: GROUNDHOG DAY

Deja vu all over again! Join Kishore Hari (@sciencequiche) and Jeff Silverman (@J_M_Silverman) as we dive into more than a century of data on the accuracy of groundhog-based weather predictions, the science of how memories form, and if the spacetime continuum really flows differently in central Pennsylvania.

About GROUNDHOG DAY
At first, Harold Ramis’ GROUNDHOG DAY seems like a typical Bill Murray comedy, with the iconic leading man standing one step away from the rest of humanity, always quick with an ironic insult. But the film cleverly turns Murray’s sarcastic outsider persona against him, and the film evolves into a sweet fable about humanity.  Murray plays Phil Connors, an egotistical Pittsburgh weatherman who hates nothing more than Groundhog Day. He detests covering the annual festival in nearby Punxsutawney, PA, and he especially despises sharing his name with the town’s celebrated rodent. Phil hopes to get in and out of the small town as soon as possible, but a blizzard strands him overnight and Phil wakes up to find out there is no next day. It’s still Feb. 2.  Outside the people of Punxsutawney are celebrating Groundhog Day as if the previous 24 hours never happened and Phil is the only one caught in a feeling of deja vu... gone wild.