Seattle Raccoon Jimothy Hits 8 Million Views as NASA and The Daily Show Amplify Viral Fame
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 22
Seattle Raccoon Jimothy Hits 8 Million Views as NASA and The Daily Show Amplify Viral Fame
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 22
Summary
Nearly 8 million views in six days turned Jimothy from a Ballard raccoon into a national internet fixation after Seattle resident Kiana Hall posted an Instagram video of his unusually round silhouette.
Short spine syndrome is widely suspected to explain his compressed, agile shape, helping drive the fascination that pushed the clip to almost 400,000 likes and flooded feeds with memes and fan art.
NASA and The Daily Show boosted that surge on Monday — NASA spotlighted Seattle from the ISS as home of “the iconic raccoon,” while the show featured Jimothy the same day.
Seattle has already folded the craze into civic life: the Mariners rallied fans for him, a mural appeared in Ballard, and a Jimothy painting raised $6,500 for a local food bank.
More than 1,000 Etsy listings now trade on the fad, even as Washington wildlife officials urge people to leave the animal alone.