1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:17,599 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Frying. Hey, Merry 4 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:21,239 Speaker 1: Christmas to listeners who are celebrating indeed, or I mean, 5 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:23,800 Speaker 1: if you aren't celebrating, you just want to be wished 6 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 1: Merry Christmas. Today's episode is coming out on December twenty, 7 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: so it seems like a good time to talk about 8 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: a very Christmas related listener request, which is how the 9 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: North American Aerospace Defense Command or NORAD started tracking Santa 10 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: Claus on Christmas Eve every year. This is something that 11 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: we've gotten several requests for, including from Elaine and Tori. 12 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: And at one point last year or the year before, 13 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:51,919 Speaker 1: I asked on our Facebook page for people to suggest 14 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:55,319 Speaker 1: holiday ideas and somebody suggested this one, and a lot 15 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: of people were like, I would like that please, m mmmmmm. 16 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: So here we are. So this whole story that circulates 17 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 1: about how NORAD started tracking Santa is pretty heartwarming, but 18 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: it doesn't a hundred percent hold up. So there's a 19 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,399 Speaker 1: little bit of myth busting here and maybe just the tiniest, 20 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 1: piniest bit of bo humbug me just a little what 21 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: you're telling me. It didn't start with Jack Skellington and 22 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:23,119 Speaker 1: his attempt to take over Christmas. No, but that would 23 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:27,680 Speaker 1: be line. Does that make sense? He was a threat. 24 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: They had to start watching him, and then they were like, 25 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: let's do it every year. That's my version. I like 26 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,440 Speaker 1: your version. So a note to parents on this one. 27 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: If your kids eagerly awaited St Nick's arrival this year, 28 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:42,400 Speaker 1: then today's show is probably a little bit more mature 29 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: and candid than they'll really enjoy, So we would recommend 30 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: saving it for later or giving it an advanced listen 31 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: on your own to decide whether your kids would enjoy 32 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: hearing it before sharing it with them. The story of 33 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: NORAD's annual Santa Tracking really begins not with Jack Skellington, 34 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: but with the Cold War. After the end of World 35 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 1: War Two, the United States increasingly felt the need to 36 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: prepare a defense against a potential Soviet attack. Lots of 37 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 1: different projects and programs were related to this basic idea, 38 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: but when it comes to Norad, the worry was of 39 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:19,960 Speaker 1: a direct attack by Soviet bombers reaching US soil. That 40 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 1: meant that the nation was looking for a way to 41 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: detect such an attack when it was still far enough 42 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: away to intercept before anyone came to harm. At first, 43 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: this task fell to the Air Defense Command, which divided 44 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,720 Speaker 1: the responsibility up among different Air Force commands around the country. 45 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 1: Each command was responsible for protecting a different part of 46 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 1: US territory, but by the nineteen fifties, with fears of 47 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:46,400 Speaker 1: a Soviet attack continuing to escalate, the United States created 48 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 1: a unified command to oversee protection of the entire nation. 49 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:55,079 Speaker 1: This was the Continental Air Defense Command or CONNAD. KANAD 50 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: was a multi service command, combining the Army, Navy, and 51 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: Air Force, but the Air Force still did a lot 52 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 1: of the heavy lifting. Condents efforts combined long range radar 53 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: systems which would provide advanced notice of an incoming attack, 54 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: with aircraft capable of intercepting that attack once it was detected. 55 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: So it was basically like a trip wire made out 56 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,959 Speaker 1: of radar, and if anything tripped the wire, the Air 57 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: Force could respond quickly and aggressively. Eventually, the United States 58 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: military came to the conclusion that it was not enough 59 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:27,960 Speaker 1: to focus just on the United States in this effort, 60 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: not when there was a neighbor to the north that 61 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,240 Speaker 1: would almost certainly be flown over in the event of 62 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: a Soviet attack. Since Canada shared the United States fears 63 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: about the possibility of such an attack, it made a 64 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: lot of sense for the two nations to work together. 65 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: The US and Canada had been at least to some extent, 66 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: sharing domestic defense plans since the nineteen forties. In the fifties, 67 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: they began signing defense agreements related to expanding this long 68 00:03:55,640 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: range radar capability into Canadian territory. This coopera Asian kept 69 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: growing until the establishment of NORAD or the North American 70 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 1: Air Defense Command, which was the successor to CONNAD, on 71 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:12,840 Speaker 1: September twel NORAD was initially headquartered at an Air Force 72 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: base in Colorado Springs, which was home to the US 73 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 1: Continental Air Defense Command and the US Air Force Air 74 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:23,039 Speaker 1: Defense Command. General Earl Partridge of the U s Air Force, 75 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: previously commander of both KANNAD and the Air Defense Command, 76 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:30,040 Speaker 1: became commander of NORAD, and he was joined by Deputy 77 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: Commander Air Marshal Roy Sleiman from the Royal Canadian Air Force. 78 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,200 Speaker 1: Although the treaty allows for the NORAD commander to be 79 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,719 Speaker 1: Canadian or American, and it's a requirement for the commander 80 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:45,479 Speaker 1: and deputy commander to be from different countries. Traditionally, the 81 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: commander has been American and the deputy commander has been Canadian. 82 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: After expensive debate and a fair amount of controversy, the 83 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 1: formal treaty that came to be known as the NORAD 84 00:04:56,320 --> 00:05:00,839 Speaker 1: Agreement was signed on May twelfth. It provided the framework 85 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: for how the two countries, governments and militaries would cooperate 86 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: in the realm of air defense. NORAD's headquarters had actually 87 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,919 Speaker 1: moved a couple of times since it was established. First 88 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: in the nineteen sixties, it moved from end to Air 89 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: Force Base to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado. This 90 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 1: is the massive underground complex of buildings constructed under a 91 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:25,479 Speaker 1: literal mountain, designed to be able to survive virtually any 92 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: attack or disaster. This facility has actually made its way 93 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: into popular culture through depictions like the nineteen eighties three 94 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:35,800 Speaker 1: movie War Games, the TV series Stargate, and the fictional 95 00:05:35,839 --> 00:05:39,599 Speaker 1: Crystal Peak, California in Terminator three, which is very clearly 96 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:43,599 Speaker 1: patterned after Cheyenne Mountain. Is so very clearly patterned after 97 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 1: Hyenne Mountain that I in the years that have intervened 98 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:50,039 Speaker 1: since seeing that movie conflated them in my head, and 99 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: when working out this podcast was like, oh wait, that 100 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:56,839 Speaker 1: was a different place. In two thousand six, nora ADS 101 00:05:56,960 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: day to day operations were moved to Peterson Air Force 102 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: Base and Passo County near Colorado Springs, with the Cheyenne 103 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 1: Mountain Facility continuing to work as nora ADS alternative command center. 104 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: The nora AD Agreement itself has also been reviewed and 105 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 1: revised several times since it was originally signed. Since nineteen 106 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: fifty eight, the agreement has been renewed nine times, including 107 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 1: four major revisions which took place in nineteen seventy five, 108 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 1: nine six, and two thousand six. The shift from air 109 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,839 Speaker 1: defense to aerospace defense as it's known today came along 110 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:35,039 Speaker 1: in nineteen eight one as well. The primary missions of 111 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: nora AD under the two thousand six renewal are aerospace warning, 112 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:42,240 Speaker 1: aerospace control, and maritime warning for all of North America, 113 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,160 Speaker 1: and there are a lot of different potential threats that 114 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 1: are looped into these three primary missions, including attacks by aircraft, 115 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: missiles or space vehicles, drug trafficking and other illegal activity 116 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: carried out by air, and nuclear attacks delivered by strategic 117 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: ballistic missile, cruise, missile or long range aircraft AFT. The 118 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:05,719 Speaker 1: maritime warning component also relates to both nations internal waterways 119 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 1: and the maritime approaches to both countries. So after getting 120 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:12,960 Speaker 1: through all of this, it may seem a little weird 121 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 1: for NORAD, the binational Cold War era entity, once headquartered 122 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 1: in a sophisticated bunker complex under an impenetrable mountain, which 123 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: is responsible for detecting long range threats to North America 124 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: by air, water, and outer space, to track Santa Claus. 125 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: It does sort of seem like an awful lot after all, 126 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: at least in terms of international military defense. Santa Claus 127 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: is not a threat, and there's no mention of Santa 128 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 1: at all in the NORAD agreement. So we're going to 129 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: talk about how this all came to be after a 130 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 1: quick sponsor break, and if somehow you still have very 131 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: young listeners with you after having gotten through all of 132 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 1: that air defense talk, uh, it really might be a 133 00:07:53,040 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: good time to find another activity for them. NORAD's tracking 134 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 1: of Santa is often compared to the September editorial in 135 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 1: The New York Sun That is the same paper that 136 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: published the Great Moon Hoax in eight thirty five editorial 137 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: ran under the headline is there a Santa Claus? More 138 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: commonly known today as Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa 139 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 1: Claus thanks to its later reprintings in children's book form. 140 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: It started with a letter by Virginia O'Hanlon, daughter of 141 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 1: coroner's assistant Dr. Philip O'Hanlon. She had written to The 142 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:37,640 Speaker 1: New York Sun earlier that summer quote, Dear editor, I 143 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:40,319 Speaker 1: am eight years old. Some of my friends say there 144 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:43,320 Speaker 1: is no Santa Claus. Papa says, if you see it 145 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 1: in the Sun, it's so. Please tell me the truth. 146 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: Is there a Santa Claus. Virginia had intended for her 147 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 1: letter to go into The Sun's Q and A column, 148 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 1: Notes and Queries, but it went unanswered. I just need 149 00:08:56,679 --> 00:09:02,040 Speaker 1: to take a minute to note the irony. Uh, if 150 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 1: you see it in the Sun, it's so. When the 151 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: Sun published the Great Moon Hoax, it's sort of beautiful. 152 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: I mean, did you not know that that was not 153 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 1: a hoax? Those those bad people live on the moon. 154 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:26,160 Speaker 1: Definitely lunar beavers anyway, So young Virginia Handlon anxiously awaited 155 00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: for her letter to be answered. It was not until 156 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: weeks later when the paper published an editorial response by 157 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:37,839 Speaker 1: Francis parcelist Church, and it began, quote, Virginia, your little 158 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:40,960 Speaker 1: friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism 159 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,960 Speaker 1: of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. 160 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 1: They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible 161 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:52,040 Speaker 1: by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be 162 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:55,680 Speaker 1: men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours. 163 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:58,760 Speaker 1: Man is a mere insect, an aunt in his intellect 164 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:02,920 Speaker 1: as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured 165 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole truth of 166 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:11,080 Speaker 1: truth and knowledge. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. 167 00:10:12,679 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: We won't read the whole thing. It goes on, but 168 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 1: it ends no Santa Claus. Thank God, he lives, and 169 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 1: he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia named 170 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:27,319 Speaker 1: ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue 171 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: to make glad the heart of childhood. Although this editorial 172 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:35,720 Speaker 1: is often remembered as an immediate, instantly beloved success that 173 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: became an annual tradition right from the beginning, the Sun 174 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:42,400 Speaker 1: didn't actually print it again until nineteen o two, and 175 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,439 Speaker 1: then again in nineteen o six. Between nineteen o seven 176 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,240 Speaker 1: and nineteen seventeen, it was printed six more times, and 177 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,479 Speaker 1: The Sun started reprinting it annually in the nineteen twenties. 178 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:55,960 Speaker 1: The story of the Yes Virginia article and that of 179 00:10:56,040 --> 00:11:00,959 Speaker 1: Norad tracking Santa do have some similarities. Both start with 180 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 1: an inquisitive child followed by the somewhat surprising response of 181 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:08,080 Speaker 1: an adult, which then grows into something that's a ubiquitous 182 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:10,840 Speaker 1: part of Christmas for a lot of people. We have 183 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:14,120 Speaker 1: a lot more verifiable detail about Yes Virginia than we 184 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:16,960 Speaker 1: do about nora AD's tracking of Santa. We know who 185 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 1: Virginia was and who her father was. We know who 186 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:22,320 Speaker 1: wrote the column and when it was published. Although it 187 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:26,120 Speaker 1: didn't originally carry a byline. Thanks to archived copies of 188 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:28,960 Speaker 1: the newspaper itself, we know when it was reprinted and 189 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:31,960 Speaker 1: when it wasn't, and we can see the newspaper's attitude 190 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: about these reprints shift over time, basically moving from well, 191 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:39,600 Speaker 1: since you people are asking again, we will print this thing. 192 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:44,480 Speaker 1: I guess two. Here is our beloved holiday classic. Please 193 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 1: enjoy it in the spirit of Christmas. And by comparison, 194 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:53,240 Speaker 1: the Norad story is a sieve. The most popular version 195 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: goes like this. In Sears, Roebuck and Company ran an 196 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 1: ad in the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, and that ad 197 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 1: read quote, Hey, kitties, call me direct on my Marry 198 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:10,120 Speaker 1: XMSS telephone. Just dial M E two dash six eight one. Kitties, 199 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:12,720 Speaker 1: be sure and dial the correct number. Call me on 200 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:16,400 Speaker 1: my private phone and I will talk to you personally anytime, 201 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:18,840 Speaker 1: day or night, or come in and visit me at 202 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:22,640 Speaker 1: Sears Toyland. And that was signed by Santa Claus. The 203 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:27,640 Speaker 1: number actually appears into places Mary x miss morphs into 204 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:32,800 Speaker 1: m E two one as well. Yeah, the Emmy and 205 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:35,600 Speaker 1: Mary turn into the first two parts of the first 206 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: two letters of the exchange for the phone number. So 207 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:40,880 Speaker 1: the most popular version of this story is that Emmy 208 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:44,920 Speaker 1: two one was a typo connecting callers not to a 209 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 1: special Santa Claus call center at Sears, but to the 210 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 1: top secret red phone at CONAD headquarters, the one that 211 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:55,959 Speaker 1: was a direct line to the Pentagon, known only to 212 00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 1: top generals and the president. And this story when the 213 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,520 Speaker 1: red phone started ringing off the hook, con AD staff 214 00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 1: played along a number of stories. Uh and versions of 215 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:11,360 Speaker 1: this telling also cite a specific person having answered that phone. 216 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:15,720 Speaker 1: Colonel Harry Shout. Shout told the story himself in multiple 217 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:18,920 Speaker 1: interviews over the years. In an interview that was recorded 218 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,240 Speaker 1: towards the end of his life, he says that he 219 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:23,960 Speaker 1: answered the red phone thinking that it was the Pentagon 220 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:27,760 Speaker 1: or Colonel Partridge. When he realized that the collar was 221 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:30,960 Speaker 1: not the Pentagon or Colonel Partridge, Shout thought that it 222 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:33,640 Speaker 1: was someone on his staff playing some kind of prank 223 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 1: on him, and he did not appreciate it at all. 224 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: But then he realized that it was a child, a 225 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:41,959 Speaker 1: little girl, trying to reach Santa, so he played along, 226 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 1: hearing the child's entire wish list and the fact their 227 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:48,280 Speaker 1: house had a chimney, and her assurances that she would 228 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:51,199 Speaker 1: leave food out for Santa and the reindeer. At least 229 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:53,800 Speaker 1: in the portion of the interview that's publicly available, he 230 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:59,120 Speaker 1: doesn't mention a misprint in an ad Shouts. Adult children 231 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:01,920 Speaker 1: told this story a little bit differently in a story 232 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:07,360 Speaker 1: Corps segment that appeared on Morning Edition in Pamela Farrell, 233 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:10,240 Speaker 1: Terry Van Curen, and Rick Shoup, who would have been 234 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:13,440 Speaker 1: about ten six and newly born when this all happened, 235 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:16,200 Speaker 1: are in line with their father's version when it comes 236 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 1: to his being at first annoyed at this call, But 237 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:21,080 Speaker 1: the way they tell it, the call was from a 238 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 1: boy whose mother eventually came on the line to tell 239 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:28,000 Speaker 1: Shoup about the misprinted ad. In the Story Corps version, 240 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:30,960 Speaker 1: the misprint meant that the boy's call was one of many, 241 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,800 Speaker 1: so many that Shoup tasked two airmen with answering the phone. 242 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:37,960 Speaker 1: Their Story Corp account goes on to include a moment 243 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:40,800 Speaker 1: later that same Christmas season when one of the men 244 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:44,560 Speaker 1: at Connad headquarters had drawn Santa's sleigh on the glass 245 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 1: board that was used to track aircraft, shop saw it, 246 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:50,840 Speaker 1: and from that had the idea to tell a radio 247 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 1: station that Connad was tracking Santa on Christmas Eve. The 248 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: communication with the radio station probably came from Colonel Barney Oldfield, 249 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 1: the public relations officer, and not from Shoup directly. There 250 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:07,960 Speaker 1: was indeed an Associated Press article on Christmas Eve nineteen 251 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 1: fifty five in which Knat assured Santa safe passage. The 252 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:16,840 Speaker 1: article also someone alarmingly explains that US and Canadian forces 253 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:21,040 Speaker 1: would be guarding Santa's flight from potential attack by Christmas haters. 254 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:24,280 Speaker 1: It uses almost those words I don't remember the exact 255 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 1: wording that it uses, but it's basically like we're protecting 256 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:31,400 Speaker 1: Santa from the enemies of Christmas using our armaments. I'm 257 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:37,720 Speaker 1: gonna go with another Jack Skellington moment here. So it 258 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 1: seems pretty likely that there was a child who accidentally 259 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:45,840 Speaker 1: called Kannat in nineteen fifty five, likely trying to dial 260 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:48,600 Speaker 1: a number that was in an AD. There was a 261 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 1: December one, nine article in the Pasadena Independent with the 262 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:57,000 Speaker 1: dateline of Colorado Springs, which reports that a youngster reversed 263 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: two digits of a number set up to answer queries 264 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:03,160 Speaker 1: about Santa and instead reached KANNAD. Colonel Harry Shout is 265 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 1: quoted in this piece as having replied to this child quote, 266 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:08,720 Speaker 1: there may be a guy called Santa Claus at the 267 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:10,880 Speaker 1: north Pole, but he's not the one I worry about 268 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:15,040 Speaker 1: coming from that direction. I also tried to find evidence 269 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:17,680 Speaker 1: that this ad really did run in the Colorado Springs 270 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:21,280 Speaker 1: Gazette in nineteen but the archive that I had access 271 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:24,320 Speaker 1: to only goes back to nineteen sixty, by which point 272 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 1: Emmy two one was the phone number for a Colorado 273 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: Springs real estate agent Mary Listings. Everyone but even though 274 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 1: there is that likely grain of truth in the starting point, 275 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:43,080 Speaker 1: this story has clearly blossomed and morphed a bit over 276 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:46,800 Speaker 1: the years. In the earliest recorded accounts, the child reached 277 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:50,200 Speaker 1: an unlisted number, not the Red phone, and since the 278 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:52,640 Speaker 1: entire point of the Red Phone was to have a direct, 279 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:56,600 Speaker 1: uninterruptible line between Kannad and the Pentagon, it would not 280 00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: have even been connected to a public exchange where someone 281 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:02,960 Speaker 1: could dial it by accident. It's also not all that 282 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 1: likely that an ad having a phone number in it 283 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:09,560 Speaker 1: would contain the same typo in two different places. I mean, 284 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:12,119 Speaker 1: I could see some scenarios where that would happen, but 285 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:15,199 Speaker 1: it's more conceivable for a child who have fumble fingered 286 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:17,879 Speaker 1: the phone number one time than for the number to 287 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 1: have been wrong in the ad twice and sparked an 288 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:24,159 Speaker 1: avalanche of calls to Connad and the nay says. Of 289 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:27,639 Speaker 1: the naysayers suggests that this ad was created and printed 290 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:31,760 Speaker 1: by Connad sometime after to add support to this whole story, 291 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:34,240 Speaker 1: or to kind of nod to the whole story that 292 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 1: it was not the like the ad. There's a picture 293 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 1: of the ad that circulates around. People are like that's 294 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:45,199 Speaker 1: a mocked up ad. Yeah, it's like a retroactive folkloric 295 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,919 Speaker 1: proof um. And though we do have the account of 296 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: Colonel Schaup and his grown children based on their childhood memories, 297 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:55,359 Speaker 1: so far, there is no record of any person, or 298 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:58,639 Speaker 1: certainly any hundreds of people coming forward to say that 299 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:03,240 Speaker 1: they accidentally called hand in attempting to speak with Santa. 300 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:05,280 Speaker 1: I want to make it super clear here that I 301 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 1: don't think the Shout family was like intentionally making anything up. 302 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:11,640 Speaker 1: But when you tell the same story over and over 303 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:18,399 Speaker 1: again for forty something years or however long, it gets 304 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,439 Speaker 1: bigger over time, especially when you're like having to do 305 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:25,120 Speaker 1: it in front of an audience. Well, and there's also 306 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,399 Speaker 1: the telephone factor, by which I mean the game of 307 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,680 Speaker 1: telephone were like. Because they were children when this all 308 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:33,159 Speaker 1: went down, I'm sure that story was also told to 309 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:36,639 Speaker 1: them by adults as part of like you know, the 310 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:41,080 Speaker 1: family folklore, and those details probably got slippy along the way. 311 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:44,040 Speaker 1: Many things contribute to that. I think we've all had 312 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:46,640 Speaker 1: those family stories that are like that seems a little 313 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 1: different from the way I heard it twenty years ago, 314 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:53,040 Speaker 1: but okay, no harmon are so. According to NORAD's own account, 315 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:55,760 Speaker 1: By the time NORAD replaced con AD, the Santa the 316 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:58,960 Speaker 1: Santa tracking was an annual tradition, and we're going to 317 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:02,159 Speaker 1: talk more about how that developed and grew After another 318 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:11,000 Speaker 1: quick sponsor break. Military efforts to do a little Christmas 319 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:14,040 Speaker 1: pr by way of Santa Claus actually go back to 320 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:18,280 Speaker 1: before Colonel Shop and the sears AD. For example, the 321 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 1: United States State Department Telegraph branch distributed a copy of 322 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:26,440 Speaker 1: a radio grand that had been purportedly dispatched to Chris 323 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:29,400 Speaker 1: Kringle at the North Pole on Christmas Eve of nineteen 324 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 1: forty eight. It said, in part, quote your coming mission 325 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:38,160 Speaker 1: in connection with Operation Noel awaited with considerable interest by 326 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,880 Speaker 1: Department reaction. Your visit expected to be one of joy 327 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:46,439 Speaker 1: and goodwill to wide eyed children. The communic a then 328 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:49,640 Speaker 1: went on to authorize Santa to communicate to all men 329 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:53,679 Speaker 1: a quote united desire for peace on Earth, and it 330 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:57,159 Speaker 1: authorized him to proceed down all chimneys, though quote you 331 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:00,600 Speaker 1: are not repeat not to omit consideration of even the 332 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:06,000 Speaker 1: smallest stalking. Apparently the State Department gets the Boss Santa around. 333 00:20:07,359 --> 00:20:12,200 Speaker 1: How does that chain of command even work? So? An 334 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:16,200 Speaker 1: Air Force seasonal Communica that same year read quote our 335 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:19,639 Speaker 1: early warning radar net to the north gives following spot 336 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:24,480 Speaker 1: position report of object detect detected heading southerly direction, one 337 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: unidentified sleigh powered by eight reindeer at fourteen thousand feet 338 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:33,360 Speaker 1: heading one degrees. Interceptors alerted and vector but unable contact. 339 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:40,640 Speaker 1: Estimated time of arrival over targets December. So the combination 340 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:45,000 Speaker 1: of the military and Santa predates Colonel Schaup and that 341 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:48,359 Speaker 1: whole story, And according to a two thousand rite up 342 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,800 Speaker 1: in Airmen Magazine, after that errand call or calls to 343 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:56,760 Speaker 1: con AD in n con ADS, tracking of Santa became 344 00:20:56,800 --> 00:21:00,919 Speaker 1: an annual tradition pretty much immediately. A warding to this article, 345 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:05,280 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty six, public relations officer Colonel Barney Oldfield 346 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:08,040 Speaker 1: asked Colonel Harry Shoup if they might set up a 347 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,640 Speaker 1: special phone line for Santa inquiries after the wild success 348 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:15,520 Speaker 1: of the previous year. Schoup actually didn't want to, but 349 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:18,840 Speaker 1: the media had already gotten wind of this idea, including 350 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:22,080 Speaker 1: visiting his home and getting his kids all excited about it, 351 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:26,000 Speaker 1: so he begrudgingly agreed, and by the time Norad replaced 352 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:30,359 Speaker 1: Khad a year later, this was an established tradition. Let's right, 353 00:21:30,359 --> 00:21:32,479 Speaker 1: out there was one of those things that was written 354 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:37,880 Speaker 1: many many decades after this originally happened, and there is 355 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:41,080 Speaker 1: some doubt about exactly how big a deal this was 356 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:45,359 Speaker 1: in nineteen and nineteen fifty six. In August second nineteen 357 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,520 Speaker 1: fifty six article on Colonel Shop in the Pittsburgh Press 358 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:52,120 Speaker 1: is all about his public and media relations work on 359 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:55,840 Speaker 1: behalf of the Military and Kannad. It's really focused on 360 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,160 Speaker 1: an award that he was receiving for handling a jet 361 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:02,960 Speaker 1: noise problem and Madison, Wisconsin. But it also mentions that 362 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:05,240 Speaker 1: he was on See It Now with Edward R. Murrow, 363 00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:08,280 Speaker 1: and he had consulted on a short film called twenty 364 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:11,800 Speaker 1: four Hour Alert starring Jack Webb, which was basically a 365 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:15,960 Speaker 1: propaganda short for the Air Force. The Pittsburgh Press article 366 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:18,560 Speaker 1: ends with Shops saying how important it is for urban 367 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:22,879 Speaker 1: dwellers to quote feel themselves in league with and contributory 368 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:26,159 Speaker 1: to air defense. But it makes no mention of Shaop 369 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 1: having had anything to do with Santa Claus or any 370 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:32,920 Speaker 1: con AD program to track Santa. If that nine Christmas 371 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:36,040 Speaker 1: had been such a success, with the nineteen fifty six 372 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,119 Speaker 1: Santa hotline already in the works, it likely would have 373 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:42,240 Speaker 1: been mentioned given the subject of the article. He was 374 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,200 Speaker 1: being covered in the Pittsburgh Press. We should mention because 375 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 1: he actually grew up in nearby Bessemer, Pennsylvania. Yeah, so, 376 00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:52,680 Speaker 1: not only had Shop done a bunch of media slash 377 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:55,720 Speaker 1: pr work for the military leading up to this point, 378 00:22:56,119 --> 00:23:00,080 Speaker 1: it seems really weird if the Conad Santa traditional is 379 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:02,000 Speaker 1: already such a big deal that it would not have 380 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:04,440 Speaker 1: come up in the context of what they were talking 381 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:07,880 Speaker 1: about here, unless I wonder if they would have omitted 382 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 1: it in order to um protect the younger crowd. You 383 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:16,080 Speaker 1: can't tell the story of how it came to be 384 00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:20,760 Speaker 1: without divulging some information. Sure that could make sense. I 385 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 1: still have doubts though anyway. I mean, that's once again 386 00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:28,000 Speaker 1: similar to how people remember in air quotes the New 387 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:31,960 Speaker 1: York Suns Yes Virginia column as this instant classic, even 388 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,000 Speaker 1: though it didn't become an annual feature for decades and 389 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:38,159 Speaker 1: the Sun was actually kind of grudgingly doing it at first. 390 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 1: But it seems likely that Conrad Santa tracking programs had 391 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,040 Speaker 1: kind of a lower and smaller start than the whole 392 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:49,000 Speaker 1: hundreds of people called in nineteen fifty five. And we've 393 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:52,919 Speaker 1: been doing it ever since. Uh progression, which is how 394 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:57,880 Speaker 1: it has entered the popular understanding of all this. Norad 395 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,880 Speaker 1: Santa Tracker was definitely reading by the nineteen sixties, though, 396 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:05,480 Speaker 1: with Nora d producing and sending Vinyl records to radio 397 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:09,520 Speaker 1: stations to play as scheduled Santa updates. On the b 398 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:13,879 Speaker 1: sides were Christmas songs performed by the NORAD Commander's Band 399 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:16,239 Speaker 1: that to me, is perhaps the most charming thing in 400 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:20,879 Speaker 1: this entire episode. In the nine seventies and eighties, the 401 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:25,120 Speaker 1: focus turned to TV, with similarly prerecorded Santa Status updates 402 00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:27,840 Speaker 1: that were replayed year after year. This is definitely what 403 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:32,880 Speaker 1: I remember from my my childhood. I specifically remember the 404 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:36,280 Speaker 1: warning that that ended with all children go to bed 405 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:40,359 Speaker 1: immediately in a very stern voice. Uh. And there was 406 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:42,600 Speaker 1: one year that like I needed to brush my teeth 407 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:45,400 Speaker 1: or something, and I wasn't quite old enough to do 408 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 1: that on my own, and my mom was tidying in 409 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:52,399 Speaker 1: the kitchen, and I was very distressed that Norad was 410 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:55,440 Speaker 1: telling me I needed to go to bed immediately, but 411 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:58,080 Speaker 1: like my mom was not available to brush my teeth. 412 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 1: I had a similar distress confusion concern because um, my 413 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:06,719 Speaker 1: mother and I would go to midnight Mass usually, and 414 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:08,919 Speaker 1: I was like, how can this be right? That this 415 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:10,879 Speaker 1: is a thing we're supposed to do, but this is 416 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,080 Speaker 1: the thing that the government is telling us to do. 417 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 1: It was conflicting directives that led to a little bit 418 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,080 Speaker 1: of we were very stressy children. I think I think 419 00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:25,480 Speaker 1: we were. I was. I was. I'm still an anxious person. 420 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:28,600 Speaker 1: I was definitely an anxious child, and I was very 421 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:30,600 Speaker 1: worried that if I was not in bed on time 422 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:33,159 Speaker 1: that Santa would come to our house. I would not 423 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 1: be in bed, we would not get any presents. Also 424 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,200 Speaker 1: in this same era, in nineteen seventy one, NORAD spent 425 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:43,960 Speaker 1: about three thousand dollars on a Norad Tracts Santa publicity film. 426 00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:47,000 Speaker 1: With the evolution of the Internet, Santa tracking has of 427 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,840 Speaker 1: course become ever more complex, Starting with a partnership with 428 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:54,199 Speaker 1: a o L in the Worldwide Web's early years, A 429 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:58,119 Speaker 1: Santa Cam network was also launched in nine, which was 430 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:03,040 Speaker 1: the Santa trackers first online here at this point, I mean, 431 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:07,080 Speaker 1: really since the early years, this is unquestionably at least 432 00:26:07,119 --> 00:26:10,480 Speaker 1: as much about pr for Nora Ad and others as 433 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:15,480 Speaker 1: it is about seasonal goodwill. There is merchandise you can buy. 434 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:19,760 Speaker 1: There are corporate sponsorships which are reportedly what pays for 435 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:24,320 Speaker 1: this today. Although I have some questions, Uh, Like it's 436 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:27,600 Speaker 1: as a person who works at a job, it makes 437 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:30,960 Speaker 1: sense that maybe the budget for the online Santa track 438 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:35,080 Speaker 1: or website is coming through corporate partnerships, But like, are 439 00:26:35,119 --> 00:26:38,639 Speaker 1: the corporate partnerships paying for the jet takeoff that we're 440 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:45,600 Speaker 1: going to talk about in a minute, How does that work? Uh? 441 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:49,119 Speaker 1: But it's definitely regardless of who is actually paying for 442 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:51,640 Speaker 1: all the things. It's a PR effort. There's a flashy 443 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:56,600 Speaker 1: website and nora Ad and Santa, a winning combination was 444 00:26:56,680 --> 00:27:01,320 Speaker 1: awarded the Silver Anvil Award of Excellence for Reputation Management 445 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:06,160 Speaker 1: and Brand Management by the Public Relations Society of America. 446 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:08,640 Speaker 1: Is Santa getting a cut of any of this? That's 447 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:12,160 Speaker 1: what I want to know. I have questions to um. 448 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:15,680 Speaker 1: According to the PR s A site inn, nora Ad 449 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:20,639 Speaker 1: saw six hundred sixty increase in website traffic because of 450 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:24,639 Speaker 1: Santa Tracker publicity, along with a thirty increase in social 451 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 1: media traffic over just a month. This note ends with 452 00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:31,600 Speaker 1: quote because of the nora Ad Track Santa program, nora 453 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:35,240 Speaker 1: Ad is a household name. Now more than ever, NORAD 454 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:39,160 Speaker 1: is universally recognized as their premier authority monitoring the North 455 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:42,240 Speaker 1: American skies. This is why a couple of years ago, 456 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:44,640 Speaker 1: when people got really upset that there was a nora 457 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:46,960 Speaker 1: Ad track Santa video in which there was a fighter 458 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:50,400 Speaker 1: jet escorting Santa and his sleigh, people got like really 459 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:54,320 Speaker 1: mad about the militarization of Christmas, and other people were like, 460 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 1: where have you been? This has been going on for 461 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:04,040 Speaker 1: to gates. All of this radio and TV and online 462 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:06,879 Speaker 1: work has also been accompanied by pictures and videos and 463 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:09,920 Speaker 1: articles peppered through with references to all the high tech 464 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,600 Speaker 1: military gear that NORAD says it's using to track Santa. 465 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:16,280 Speaker 1: So the descriptions of the Santa tracker are also a 466 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:18,399 Speaker 1: chance to sort of clue the public in on what 467 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:23,160 Speaker 1: kind of technology NORAD has at its disposal for seventeen. 468 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 1: That includes NORAD's North Warning System, which is a collection 469 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:30,440 Speaker 1: of forty seven radar installations in Canada and Alaska, along 470 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:35,679 Speaker 1: with infrared satellites to detect Rudolph's news, and a worldwide 471 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 1: Santa Cam network that turns on the cameras about an 472 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:43,360 Speaker 1: hour before Santa enters a country and then turns them 473 00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:48,520 Speaker 1: off again when he leaves, and Canadian NORAD pilots fly 474 00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:52,480 Speaker 1: CF eighteen fighter jets out of Newfoundland to welcome Santa 475 00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:54,760 Speaker 1: to North America. And this is where I'm like, does 476 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:57,320 Speaker 1: the corporate sponsorship pay for that? And is it a 477 00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:01,240 Speaker 1: takeoff that's actually happening for real? That's the part that 478 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:04,920 Speaker 1: I'm more inclined to question did that really happen? And 479 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:07,400 Speaker 1: this is one of the ways that the Nora ad 480 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:12,160 Speaker 1: st story really diverges from Yes Virginia. Yes Virginia is 481 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:15,680 Speaker 1: all about how Santa is real, emphasizing imagination and faith 482 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:19,040 Speaker 1: and the intangible, but not suggesting that he isn't in 483 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:22,560 Speaker 1: the flesh human person that the writer himself personally met 484 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:25,960 Speaker 1: at some point. Nor Add on the other hand, straight 485 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:28,720 Speaker 1: up says that the fighter jet pilots of Intersect have 486 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:32,120 Speaker 1: intercepted Santa a bunch of times, and that Santa always 487 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:37,360 Speaker 1: waves because he likes to see the pilots today. The 488 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:43,880 Speaker 1: nora Ad Track Santa website is in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, 489 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:47,600 Speaker 1: and Chinese. There are apps available to track him for 490 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:52,240 Speaker 1: Apple and Google Play, as well as a presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, 491 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:56,360 Speaker 1: and Instagram, on Star contracts Santa, and then there's a 492 00:29:56,480 --> 00:30:00,280 Speaker 1: nora Ad Track Santa Alexa skill. For a while, Google 493 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:02,440 Speaker 1: Maps had an official partnership with nora And for the 494 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:06,320 Speaker 1: Santa Tracker, but that partnership ended in and Google put 495 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:09,160 Speaker 1: that work into its own Santa Tracker. And I read 496 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 1: an article that was like, I tried to get into 497 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:12,920 Speaker 1: the bottom. I tried to get to the bottom of 498 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:17,240 Speaker 1: what happened between nora Ad and Google. Was there a fight? 499 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:22,160 Speaker 1: Was their drama somehow? No one really knows. Today, the 500 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:25,560 Speaker 1: nora Ad Track Santa call center has more than a 501 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:30,000 Speaker 1: thousand volunteers who answer calls every Christmas Eve. They the 502 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:33,800 Speaker 1: volunteers average roughly forty calls an hour. It's usually a 503 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:37,360 Speaker 1: two hour shift. They also answered questions via email, a 504 00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:41,520 Speaker 1: lot of kids calling and asking where Santa is uh, 505 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:45,880 Speaker 1: questions pertaining Santa and presents and Christmas and things like that. 506 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:50,840 Speaker 1: And it's clear that, regardless of the shakiness of the 507 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:54,840 Speaker 1: origin story, Colonel schaup ended up loving the Norad Santa Tracker. 508 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:58,160 Speaker 1: His children described it as a thing he was proudest 509 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:01,480 Speaker 1: of in his career and after his retirement, he would 510 00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:05,560 Speaker 1: still help with Christmas Eve Santa tracking. Colonel Schaup died 511 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:08,520 Speaker 1: on March fourteen, two thousand nine, at the age of nine. 512 00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:12,960 Speaker 1: And that is the history of why Nora ad tracts 513 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:18,960 Speaker 1: Santa every year. Uh. I still have some questions that 514 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:22,920 Speaker 1: some of which will never be answered. Yeah, I don't 515 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:25,440 Speaker 1: think any of our questions will be answered. Do you 516 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:28,360 Speaker 1: have any listener mail that we can answer questions or 517 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:31,840 Speaker 1: reply to in our concrete way? So yes, this is uh. 518 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,600 Speaker 1: This is from Rachel. It is about our recent six 519 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:37,520 Speaker 1: Impossible episodes that was all listener requests, and it is 520 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:42,280 Speaker 1: about the Great Window frog Fight. And I would like 521 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:45,360 Speaker 1: to say that that episode came out yesterday afternoon, like 522 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:50,280 Speaker 1: midlate afternoon Eastern time, yesterday afternoon. By nine o'clock this morning, 523 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 1: we had six emails about the frog fight. So clearly 524 00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:58,440 Speaker 1: the frog fight was the hit for that day. Uh, 525 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:01,680 Speaker 1: And Rachel says, high ladies, I yearly jumped out of 526 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,360 Speaker 1: my chair when in your most recent episode you covered 527 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:07,520 Speaker 1: the frogs of Wyndham. I grew up in Willimantic and 528 00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:11,560 Speaker 1: frogs were everywhere in town. As you mentioned. There is 529 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:16,040 Speaker 1: an operetta by uh By Burton Levitt called the frogs 530 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:19,880 Speaker 1: of Windhom. Many organizations find a way to incorporate the 531 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:23,520 Speaker 1: frog into their logos. The town has even done painted 532 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:27,600 Speaker 1: frog sculptures, much like the painted scout the painted cow 533 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:30,720 Speaker 1: sculptures in other towns. The image that you used of 534 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:33,920 Speaker 1: the bridge represents a few things about Windom. The spool 535 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:36,360 Speaker 1: of threat is from the American Thread Factory, a major 536 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:39,760 Speaker 1: employer in town in the eighteen hundred to nineteen hundreds. 537 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:41,959 Speaker 1: The frogs on them are I think of frog comments 538 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,240 Speaker 1: of Puerto Rico, which represents the diversity in town. The 539 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:47,280 Speaker 1: version of the story that I heard is that once 540 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:50,560 Speaker 1: people heard the tale the tale, townsfolk were known as 541 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:53,320 Speaker 1: the fools of Wyndham, and people would reply that they 542 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:56,840 Speaker 1: were not from Windom, but from Willomantic. The county is 543 00:32:56,840 --> 00:32:59,960 Speaker 1: actually Windom County and contains the towns of North Windham's, 544 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:03,800 Speaker 1: South Windom, Windom Center in Willomantic. Well Emantic is the 545 00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:07,040 Speaker 1: Algonquin term for the river. I was just so excited 546 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:09,480 Speaker 1: that my hometown was covered in one of my favorite podcasts. 547 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:10,880 Speaker 1: Thank you for all that you do and all the 548 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:14,400 Speaker 1: interesting topics of conversation that you start tears. Rachel thank 549 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:17,680 Speaker 1: you so much Rachel for this note. Uh. It has 550 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:20,400 Speaker 1: always We've said before, so nice to hear from people who, 551 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:22,480 Speaker 1: when we tell a story that's local to them, have 552 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:28,840 Speaker 1: some personal local history slash flavor to share about it. 553 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:32,720 Speaker 1: And I was not expecting the frog fight to be 554 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:35,560 Speaker 1: nearly as popular in our email is it has been 555 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:39,760 Speaker 1: just in the like less than twenty four hours between 556 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:42,040 Speaker 1: when that episode came out and when we are recording 557 00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:45,440 Speaker 1: this one today. If you would like to write to 558 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:48,120 Speaker 1: us about this or any other podcast or history podcasts 559 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:50,000 Speaker 1: at how stuff Works dot com. And then we're also 560 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:53,160 Speaker 1: all over social media as miss and History. So that's 561 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:56,120 Speaker 1: our Facebook and our Twitter and our Tumbler, which I 562 00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:58,600 Speaker 1: haven't updated in a while. Maybe I should get on that. 563 00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:02,240 Speaker 1: It's also our Pinterest on our Instagram. Our website is 564 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:05,640 Speaker 1: missing history dot com, where you can find show notes 565 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:07,360 Speaker 1: on all the episodes that Holly and I have ever 566 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:12,000 Speaker 1: worked on, uh, searchable archive every episode that we have 567 00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:15,440 Speaker 1: ever done. There's a tag up there called Christmas episodes 568 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:17,960 Speaker 1: that has all of our Christmas episodes that we have 569 00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:21,399 Speaker 1: worked on, uh, which this one fits right into. So 570 00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:23,200 Speaker 1: you can do all that in a whole lot more 571 00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:30,360 Speaker 1: on our website which is missing. History dot com for 572 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:32,759 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics. Is It, 573 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:42,360 Speaker 1: How stuff Works dot com