J. Michael Andresen

4. Olympics An Olympic gold medal is the goal of all of the young athletes competing at the Winter Olympics this February in Sochi, Russia. Canada won the most gold medals in 2010, but it was the host country, which usually gets a boost in medal count. Russia is hoping to prevail this year, but it would have a very long way to come from its low gold medal count in 2010. The Olympic predictor Infostrada, which looks at how individual athletes from each country perform in international trials, predicts Norway will rise to the top this year. The Infostrada gold medal prediction for each country is listed in parentheses, followed by the gold medal count from the 2010 and 2006 Olympics, respectively. Who will win the most gold medals at the Winter Olympics? a. Norway (15 predicted in 2014, 9 in 2010, 2 in 2006) b. United States (14 predicted in 2014, 9 in 2010, 9 in 2006) c. Canada (11 predicted in 2014, 14 in 2010, 7 in 2006) d. Germany (6 predicted in 2014, 10 in 2010

2. Groundhog (February 2) Punxatawney Phil is known as the world's most famous prognosticating rodent. On February 2, he emerges from his den and looks about. If he sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter. If he sees no shadow, it means an early spring. The number of total times Phil has seen each since the release of the movie Groundhog Day is indicated in parentheses. What will Punxatawney Phil see? a. His shadow (14) b. No shadow (6) Punxatawney Phil saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter. Perhaps this should not have been surprising, given all the polar vortexes (vortices for the Latin purists) circulating around the United States this year. The correct answer to Question 2 of the 2014 Prognostication Quiz is A. His shadow . A total 34 out of 52 entrants picked A. This approximately matches the recent odds of a shadow appearing. The Winters Nadir Y. Larry A. Craig W. Janet C. Keila B. Grant M. Ben S. Chris C. Sarah M. R