Platapus
12-20-13, 05:08 PM
NORAD and its predecessor have a holiday tradition of "tracking" and reporting the progress of Santa Claus since the 1950's. Every wonder how that started?
No?
Well, too bad, I am going to tell you anyway. :O:
It started with a typographical error from the Sears and Roebuck and company.
In 1955, Sears had a clever holiday idea. They would set up a phone number and children could call and talk to Santa directly.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Why_NORAD_Tracks_Santa.jpg
What could possibly go wrong?
The problem was that the phone number for the Sears office was not ME2-6681. That number was a hotline number to the Operations Officer of the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), which was the predecessor of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
One day in December 1955 Colonel Harry Shoup, USAF was duty commander of operations of CONAD. The phone rang.
(from http://mentalfloss.com/article/32021/why-did-norad-start-tracking-santa)
U.S. Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, director of operations at the center, rushed over to the phone and grabbed it.
“Yes, Sir, this is Colonel Shoup,” he barked.
Nothing but silence in response.
“Sir? This is Colonel Shoup,” he said.
Silence again.
“Sir? Can you read me alright?”
Finally, a soft voice on the other end.
“Are you really Santa Claus?” a little girl asked.
After some thought Col Shoup realized that that this was not a prank call.
“Yes, I am,” he answered. “Have you been a good little girl?"
The girl explained to Shoup that she would leave some food out for both Santa and his reindeer and then recited her Christmas list to him. Shoup thanked her for her hospitality, noting that Santa had a lot of traveling to do. How did he get to all those houses in one night, anyway, she asked.
Apparently, that was classified intelligence in Shoup’s mind. “That’s the magic of Christmas,” he said. If anyone asks her about that, he said, she should tell them to stop asking so many questions or Santa would put them on the naughty list.
The red phone would keep ringing throughout the night. Not because of Soviet nukes or fighter planes heading toward U.S. soil, but because of a typo.
After a few more Santa-related calls, Shoup pulled a few airmen aside and gave them a special assignment. They would answer the phone and give callers—barring the Pentagon, we assume—Santa’s current location as they “tracked” him on their radar.
From that night on, tracking Santa became a yearly tradition, carried on by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) when it replaced CONAD in 1958. A new phone number, separate from the red phone, was established and publicized, and people were invited to call in and find out how close Santa was to their home.
Harry Shoup passed away in 2009, remembered by his peers and the public as the “Santa Colonel” who gave a special gift to millions of kids.
Way to go Colonel! :salute:
No?
Well, too bad, I am going to tell you anyway. :O:
It started with a typographical error from the Sears and Roebuck and company.
In 1955, Sears had a clever holiday idea. They would set up a phone number and children could call and talk to Santa directly.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Why_NORAD_Tracks_Santa.jpg
What could possibly go wrong?
The problem was that the phone number for the Sears office was not ME2-6681. That number was a hotline number to the Operations Officer of the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), which was the predecessor of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
One day in December 1955 Colonel Harry Shoup, USAF was duty commander of operations of CONAD. The phone rang.
(from http://mentalfloss.com/article/32021/why-did-norad-start-tracking-santa)
U.S. Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, director of operations at the center, rushed over to the phone and grabbed it.
“Yes, Sir, this is Colonel Shoup,” he barked.
Nothing but silence in response.
“Sir? This is Colonel Shoup,” he said.
Silence again.
“Sir? Can you read me alright?”
Finally, a soft voice on the other end.
“Are you really Santa Claus?” a little girl asked.
After some thought Col Shoup realized that that this was not a prank call.
“Yes, I am,” he answered. “Have you been a good little girl?"
The girl explained to Shoup that she would leave some food out for both Santa and his reindeer and then recited her Christmas list to him. Shoup thanked her for her hospitality, noting that Santa had a lot of traveling to do. How did he get to all those houses in one night, anyway, she asked.
Apparently, that was classified intelligence in Shoup’s mind. “That’s the magic of Christmas,” he said. If anyone asks her about that, he said, she should tell them to stop asking so many questions or Santa would put them on the naughty list.
The red phone would keep ringing throughout the night. Not because of Soviet nukes or fighter planes heading toward U.S. soil, but because of a typo.
After a few more Santa-related calls, Shoup pulled a few airmen aside and gave them a special assignment. They would answer the phone and give callers—barring the Pentagon, we assume—Santa’s current location as they “tracked” him on their radar.
From that night on, tracking Santa became a yearly tradition, carried on by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) when it replaced CONAD in 1958. A new phone number, separate from the red phone, was established and publicized, and people were invited to call in and find out how close Santa was to their home.
Harry Shoup passed away in 2009, remembered by his peers and the public as the “Santa Colonel” who gave a special gift to millions of kids.
Way to go Colonel! :salute: