Here Comes Santa Claus
BY THE NUMBERS
By The Numbers, a look at what’s in the news . . . by the numbers. These are just numbers, not suggestions that they mean more or less than what they are. We do not suggest that one number is connected to another. These are simply facts with no extraneous details, bias or slanted reporting. To borrow (and perhaps mangle a bit) a quote from legendary fictional detective Joe Friday, it’s just the numbers, ma’am!
It’s finally here . . . Christmas! In just a few days, the old fat guy in the red suit will depart from his cozy and warm North Pole home (and the massive toy shop) and head around the world to visit all the little good boys and girls. So, with just hours to go before he begins that trek, our crack reporting staff decided to dig into Santa Claus . . . by the numbers!
900 million
That’s how many households Santa has to visit to drop off toys. Of course if the little girls and boys in some of those houses are on the naughty list instead of the nice list . . . well, let’s just say Santa’s workload could be a bit easier.
1,500,000,000
There are approximately 1.5 billion children on the planet age 12 or under. Can you imagine how much paper it takes to print the naughty and nice list? Maybe Santa’s switched to a smartphone?
48-50
That’s how many hours Santa has to deliver on Christmas Eve. Remember, Christmas Eve begins and ends at the International Date Line. It actually starts on Kiritimati, an island better known as Christmas Island! Kind of makes sense, huh!
650
In order to get the trip done in time, Santa and the reindeers have to travel at about 650 miles PER SECOND!!! How do they manage to do that? Christmas magic! (But we hear getting stopped in time on some of those sloped roofs is really tough!) By the way, our pals at the North American Aerospace Defense Command – better known as NORAD – say that Santa travels faster than starlight. We agree!
8
We’re told that’s the average age where little kids stop believing . . . in Christmas magic. How sad is that! One study we saw said it could be as late as 14 or 15 though. For the record, we agree with Mr. Francis Pharcellus Church. Mr. Church worked at the New York Sun back in the late 1800s. He replied to a letter from 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon who asked if there was really a Santa Claus. To quote Mr. Church, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”
9 or more
The average reindeer eats about nine or more pounds of vegetation a day. Can you imagine how much Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen and Rudolph eat after working up the appetite they have?
2
We aren’t for sure on this one, but we have it from an anonymous source that Santa sleeps for a full two days after the big night of delivery! It makes sense. We have all heard the term, a long winter’s nap!
1
That same anonymous source told us that the elves in the toy shop get one day off (Dec. 25) and then it’s back to work making toys for next year. Hey, it takes a lot to get things ready for 1.5 billion children (give or take a few).