Denisdon Forum
Dr. Jim Denison
Millions of children eagerly awaited Santa Claus’s visit last night. If you used NORAD’s Santa tracker, you knew precisely where he was on his annual expedition. On any other night, the North American Aerospace Defense Command scans the skies for potential threats. But on Christmas Eve, at least one hundred thousand kids call into NORAD to inquire about Santa’s location, while millions more follow St. Nick’s progress via online reports in nine languages.
It all started with a child’s accidental phone call in 1955. The Colorado Springs newspaper printed a Sears ad encouraging children to call Santa and listing a phone number. A boy called, but he reached NORAD. Air Force Col. Harry W. Shoup picked up an emergency-only “red phone” and was greeted by a tiny voice that began reciting a Christmas wish list.
When the boy questioned whether he was really talking to Santa, Col. Shoup summoned a deep voice and replied, “Ho, ho, ho! Yes, I am Santa Claus. Have you been a good boy?” Shoup said he learned from the boy’s mother that Sears mistakenly printed the top-secret number. Fifty calls a day followed, and the rest is history.
Over the years, reporters have questioned the accuracy of Col. Shoup’s story. But no one questions the popularity of the figure at its center. The Rest of The Story Here