--- title: Groundhog Day: 3 Times the Holiday Went Terribly Wrong description: A look back at some Groundhog Day controversies, from Bill de Blasio losing his grip on Chuck to the groundhog biting Bloomberg. canonical: https://time.com/4202482/groundhog-day-controversies/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-01T20:03:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-17T16:17:04.000Z og:title: 3 Times Groundhog Day Went Terribly Wrong og:description: Groundhog gaffes that will definitely make you cringe og:url: https://time.com/4202482/groundhog-day-controversies/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 3 Times Groundhog Day Went Terribly Wrong twitter:description: Groundhog gaffes that will definitely make you cringe twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 3 Times Groundhog Day Went Terribly Wrong  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Updated: Jan 17, 2024 4:17 PM UTCPublished: Feb 1, 2016 8:03 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Updated: Jan 17, 2024 4:17 PM UTCPublished: Feb 1, 2016 8:03 PM UTC **Correction appended, February 1, 2016** Feb. 2 is [Groundhog Day](http://time.com/3691918/groundhog-day/), the annual holiday in which Americans allow animals to “predict” the length of winter, based on whether or not they see their shadows. Some [ceremonies](http://time.com/3685895/groundhog-day-history/) have been more eventful than others in recent years. Here, NewsFeed looks back at a few mishaps that threatened to cast a shadow over the tradition. • On Groundhog Day 2009, New York City’s traditional fortune-telling groundhog, known as “Staten Island Chuck,” bit Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s left hand as the politician tried to lure him with an ear of corn. The rodent was a little camera shy, so it took the food and brought it back into its enclosure. When it still wouldn’t come out, Bloomberg put both hands around its belly and dragged it out of its wooden shelter. The then-mayor, who had been wearing black leather gloves, appeared at an event later that day with a bandage over his left index finger, [the New York _Times_ reported.](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/nyregion/03groundhog.html) • Scandal struck after Groundhog Day 2014, when New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio lost his grip on “Charlotte,” the female stand-in for Chuck. A week later, she died of [“internal injuries,”](http://nypost.com/2014/09/25/groundhog-dropped-by-de-blasio-died-of-internal-injuries/) but the death wasn’t reported until seven months later by the _New York Post_. For Groundhog Day 2015, plexiglass separated the Democrat and the rodent. This year, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will stand in for de Blasio. • On [Groundhog Day 2015](http://time.com/3692943/groundhog-bites-mayor-ear-groundhog-day/) in Sun Prairie, Wis., Jimmy the Groundhog bit Mayor Jonathan Freund’s ear as it “leaned in” to “whisper” his prediction of an early spring. Watch below: This year, all eyes will be on famed Pennsylvania groundhog [Punxsutawney Phil](http://www.groundhog.org/). Let’s hope everything goes as planned. **Correction:** _The original version of this article misidentified Kathy Hochul’s office. 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