Forget what you think you know about opossums. They’re not the nasty, trash-eating troublemakers that some folks make them out to be, but remarkable creatures that provide valuable services, including pest control. Learn more about these misunderstood marsupials and how one of their habits can actually be helpful.

Early each February, America’s attention centers on a group of men in top hats as they wake up a rodent, then pretend it can predict the weather.