Heat and solstice

by Jimmy Johnson

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Understandably perhaps, Jack in Minnesota mentioned this cartoon as a favorite of his. I’m a day late with it, but here it is. Alas, it is true: the days are now getting shorter. The actual temperature of late notwithstanding, I read recently that the yearly temperature extremes—hottest in midsummer, coldest in midwinter—do not coincide with the sunniest and darkest days, as logic might dictate. This is because it takes our big old ball of dirt and rock a long time to warm up and cool down. Even though the days are now getting shorter, the earth in the northern hemisphere will continue to warm up for the next couple of months, while in the southern hemisphere it will do the opposite. End of science lesson.

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