“This is pitiful. A thousand people freezing their butts off waiting to worship a rat. What a hype. Groundhog Day used to mean something in this town. They used to pull the hog out, and they used to eat it!”
Ah, Groundhog Day.
Besides being one of those movies that you really should see right now if you haven’t already, Groundhog Day itself is an interesting subject. In short: groundhog comes out of the ground, sees or doesn’t see his shadow, and we make broad-sweeping generalizations about the weather patterns for months based on that. Logically, it’s completely sound!
Except that, actually, the history of Groundhog Day, and this whole “small mammal predicting the future” thing does have some truth to it. (Possibly even more than Paul, that one Octopus who was predicting world cup games last year.) Oh, and one other, minor thing: back then, they didn’t use Groundhogs.
They used Hedgehogs.
In this picture, Sonic has closed up the southern entrance to his house based on coming wind patterns. Only the north entrance, seen on the right, is visible.
You see, Hedgehogs actually have a rather amazing ability – far beyond anything we humans naturally have – to sense and predict changes in the wind direction. Hedgehogs were known for building two entrances to their little homes, one facing north and one facing south. If the wind was going to blow in harshly from the north, the hedgehog would sense this, and would close the northern entrance. If the wind was going to blow from the south instead, it would open up the northern entrance and then close the south in preparation for the change.
It may be no small coincidence that in the early 90′s, SEGA renamed February 2nd ‘Hedgehog Day‘, a tradition we continued with our announcement of Sonic 4: Episode 1 on this very day one year ago. The year since has been one of the most exciting and active for the blue blur since, perhaps, just after those original glory days – and with both Sonic 4 and Sonic Colors arriving in that time, the speedy blue hedgehog has proven that there’s both refreshed life and quality lying ahead of him.
Aristotle, above, is one among many Greeks who wrote on the unique abilities of Hedgehogs.
Just as the Greeks did those early days in winter when they brought out their own little hedgehogs to sense changes in the wind and weather, perhaps we can do the same for the future of Sonic. So then, what does the coming year hold for our beloved blue hedgehog?
As you should already know, this year is the 20th Anniversary for Sonic, with his birthday coming up on June 23rd, 2011. It’s almost hard to believe that his 20th year has already arrived – time, just like hedgehogs with way-past-cool sneakers, flies by before you know it.
Having seen and sensed the direction and future that our own hedgehog has in front of him, this author’s personal thoughts are fairly simple: this year may very well be the best year that Sonic has had since the Genesis days. The winds just ahead of us bring very good things.
So, to all of you who have been with us since last year’s Hedgehog Day – and even to those who remember the very first Hedgehog Day almost two decades ago: thanks for standing strong, sticking with us, and supporting the blue blur. We hope you’re just as stoked as we are for what lies ahead.
Aristotle, often cited among the Greeks who wrote about Hedgehogs and their powerful wind-sensing abilities, was himself later categorized among writers and thinkers in a comparison that any Sonic fan might find quite interesting. Rumor has it, in fact, that there are two styles of science: compared as either objective or abstract. Find the false line within this paragraph itself, and you may find hidden answers of your own.
On behalf of our teams at SEGA – Happy Hedgehog Day, everyone!
[Source: Sonic City Blognik]
Daniel Sonic 