‘A dumb idea:’ Fundraising battle coming to an end

It’s never advisable to stick your tongue to a pole in winter, but one man in Watrous will be doing that Monday night — but at least it’s for a good cause.

Jeff Siegfried with Watrous Mainline and Andrew Matheson, a local firefighter, are raising funds for a new fire truck for the community with the Watrous Mainline Frozen Tongue Challenge.

But there’s a catch — the person who raises the lowest amount will need to stick their tongue to a pole outside the Watrous Mainline building.

Siegfried said he came up with the idea last winter during a cold spell.

“I thought the shock value from it would garnish some attention and it certainly has. A lot of people in town and the area have been talking about what a dumb idea this is,” Siegfried told the 980 CJME Greg Morgan Morning Show.

Matheson said they are still working out the logistics of how the tongue-sticking is going to go, but they also want to use it as a chance to teach people how to safely remove their tongues.

“It’s going to be a good teaching moment for children,” Matheson said, noting some family members told him their sons recently got their tongue stuck.

The challenge is going to be extra tough on the person stuck to the pole; the temperature is once again in extreme territory for a majority of the province.

“Five weeks ago I thought, ‘Well, hopefully it’s around that -10 C, the tongue will still stick and it won’t be too violent,’ but this temperature is going to be for a vicious, vicious outcome for this challenge,” Siegfried told the 650 CKOM Brent Loucks Show.

The two men have until Monday night, when they will reveal the winner and the loser will face the music.