Marketplace of Ideas Blog

Today is Groundhog Day, the day where Jimmy the Groundhog of Sun Prairie, or Punxsutawney Phil, or whoever your favorite rodent-based climate predictor is, sees, or does not see, his shadow, and predicts six more weeks of winter or an early spring.

Given how this winter has gone, of course we’ll get six more weeks of winter, regardless of the prediction. (Monday’s Sun Prairie forecast: Mostly cloudy, 30 percent chance of afternoon snow.) This year, it’s more likely to be six more months of winter, in fact.

Which brings to mind this stunt I wanted to do when I had aspirations of being a morning radio personality:

SHORTLY AFTER SUNRISE: “This just in from Sun Prairie: Jimmy the Groundhog has officially seen his shadow, and you know that means that we’ll have six more weeks of winter …”

A FEW MINUTES LATER: “This bulletin in from Sun Prairie: Jimmy the Groundhog has just been shot!”

(For those who don’t know this: Punxsutawney Phil is stuffed. As Jimmy is live — the ninth iteration of Jimmy — this is not intended to encourage open season on groundhogs.)

After-sunrise update: Jimmy did see his shadow this morning, which means six more years of winter.