Were you excited to see PETA's remake of Groundhog Day? Sorry! We were just joking (or "Joseph King," if you'll pardon the pun). We would love to free Punxsutawney Phil (and make it so that you didn't have to listen to "I Got You Babe" 50 times in a row), but for now, we'll have to settle for singing the praises of fun, animal-friendly films like Hop. We do have quite a few Hollywood supporters, though, so you never know what might happen in the future.
 

iStockPhoto.com/Ian Jeffrey

 
Here are some other April Fools' Day jokes we liked:

• Pick-A-Pig: The Rundown forces people to "meet their meat" by having them choose a sweet little piggy, name him or her, and watch their pig learn, play, and grow through a webcam … and then they have to choose when and how the pig will be slaughtered. What was it Sir Paul McCartney said about if slaughterhouses had glass walls …?
• McShocker: Just Means reports that McDonald's is phasing out meat and will be completely vegetarian by 2030. Wanting to be a leader in environmental protection and animal welfare, the burger chain adopts a healthy vegetarian menu. In a related story, it is reported that the obesity crisis will end in 2031.

Happy April Fools' Day!

Written by Michelle Sherrow

In a world where a man is forced to live the same day of his life over and over again … (I'm doing my best movie trailer voice-over impression here!)

For folks who love animals and a good comedy, you're in for a treat that's been two years in the negotiating. Through a special grant from a Hollywood supporter, PETA has been able to purchase the rights to the 1993 classic Groundhog Day, and it's now set to get a makeover: a freshly-shot and even happier ending than the original.

In PETA's new animal-friendly version (scheduled for release in February 2012), Phil Connors (Bill Murray) discovers that the way to keep from hopelessly repeating February 2 is to rescue Punxsutawney Phil from being dragged out of his "burrow" (a small enclosure in the basement of a library) and held up under harsh lights in front of a noisy crowd. Connors wins Rita over by whisking Phil to an animal sanctuary in the rolling Pennsylvania hills.
 

© iStockPhoto.com/Jeff Goulden

 
Will Phil correctly predict the weather? Will his alarm clock finally play a less annoying song? You'll have to see the movie to find out. Who knows, our on-screen happy ending may influence real life, just as Free Willy did.
 

Written by Joseph King

rps.psu.edu / CC

Vegan? There's an app for that. Electronic pie-throwing? There's a tweet for that. Animatronic shadow-detecting? Thanks to some talented students at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, there may be a system for that sometime in the very near future.

Chris Nadovich—director of laboratories in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Lafayette—was so intrigued by our request to the Groundhog Club's Inner Circle to replace Punxsutawney Phil with an animatronic groundhog that he created a project for his students, asking them to develop a shadow-detection system that would help an animatronic Phil "see" his shadow. Right now, five teams of two students each are slated to begin working on this project, which will be completed by the end of April.

We can't wait to see what Nadovich's class comes up with. In the meantime, we're already working on a name for the new technology. Our suggestion: "iShadow." What would you call the groundbreaking (and groundhog-liberating) innovation?

Written by Logan Scherer

oygirl.files.wordpress / CC

With Groundhog Day just a week away, I've got a Bill Murray movie on my mind—but the classic Groundhog Day isn't it. No, I'm thinking of Caddyshack—and the scene-stealing Mr. Gopher—and hoping that the folks in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, take a cue from the humane concept behind that cinematic critter by retiring Phil to a sanctuary and replacing him with an electronic groundhog.

Phil is forced to be on display year round at the local library and is denied the ability to prepare for and enter yearly hibernation (and I have a hard time with "spring forward"). Add to that the displeasure of large, screaming crowds, flashing lights of cameras, and human handling. If Punxsutawney frees Phil, then the bitter winter that's made him into an unwilling media attraction will end, making way for a sunny spring that everyone can enjoy.

Written by Logan Scherer