How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

So much random stuff always ends up on the show.

In our "Revenge of the Critters" segment yesterday I mentioned a 45 year old woman who accidentally shot herself in the foot while stalking a woodchuck in her garden.

It reminded me of this little ditty I learned as a child and proceeded to use on the air:

"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

How could I know this would be of interest to anyone else?

Well.. it was.

In fact one caller gave me the answer to the question:

"A woodchuck would chuck all the wood that he could if a woodchuck could chuck wood."

Bravo!

It got me to thinking though.

What in the world IS a woodchuck anyway?

That's the kind of question that will keep you up at night.

Or at least, can keep me up at night!

So after a little research... here are the facts:

1) A woodchuck is also known as a groundhog

2) A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck COULD chuck wood

3) While it makes for a great tongue-twister, the sad answer is: probably none. Woodchucks aren't particularly tree-oriented, and while they can climb to find food, they prefer being on the ground.

In fact, they got the name "woodchuck" from British trappers who couldn't quite wrap their tongues around the Cree Indian name "wuhak."

More commonly (and accurately) known as groundhogs, these animals are closely related to squirrels, marmots, and prairie dogs, with which they share an affinity for burrowing.

And actually, a burrowing woodchuck can chuck dirt, in the form of tunnels that can reach five feet deep and as much as 35 feet in length.So, based on that number, New York State wildlife expert Richard Thomas calculated that if a woodchuck could chuck wood, he could chuck as much as 700 pounds of the stuff.

Whew!

Now I'll be able to sleep tonight.