MetaChat - NORAD’s Santa Tracker

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23 December 2005

NORAD’s Santa Tracker -- This is the 50th Anniversary that NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa. The tradition began after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. store advertisement for children to call Santa on a special "hotline" included an inadvertently misprinted telephone number. Instead of Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief's operations "hotline."

post by: ericb at: 14:53 | 8 comments

The Director of Operations, Colonel Harry Shoup, received the first "Santa" call on Christmas Eve 1955. Realizing what had happened, Colonel Shoup had his staff check radar data to see if there was any indication of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Indeed there were signs of Santa and children who called were given an update on Santa's position. Thus, the tradition was born. In 1958, the governments of Canada and the United States decided to create a bi-national air defense command for the North American continent called the North American Air Defense Command. Canada and the U.S. believed they could better defend North America together as a team instead of separately.

posted by ericb 23 December | 14:53

Correction: "Canada and the U.S. believed they could better defend North America from Santa together as a team instead of separately."

posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson 23 December | 14:55

they could better defend North America from Santa

It's that damn pesky War on Christmas, again!

posted by ericb 23 December | 14:59

O'Reilly was right, though. There really is...

posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson 23 December | 15:06

This site made my son soooooooo happy when he was little. We'd look at it off and on all night Christmas eve and he just loved the whole concept.

posted by mygothlaundry 23 December | 16:59

GONAD!

posted by orthogonality 23 December | 17:43

We don't protect the Galapagos, orthagonality.

posted by Triode 23 December | 19:45

Thanks for reminding me about this. The kid will love it.

posted by jrossi4r 23 December | 20:40

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