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December 23, 2005

Strange But True!

Q. At Christmas time, Santa can get so busy his head spins. Making matters worse, his house sits right on the North Pole. Why is this worse, and which direction does Santa's front door face anyhow?

A. As the Earth turns, different points at different latitudes trace out larger or smaller circles through the day — roughly 25,000 miles at the equator, or just over 1,000 miles per hour rotational speed, lesser circles and speeds moving toward the poles, say Arthur Upgren and Jurgen Stock in "Weather: How It Works and Why It Matters." By the time you get to Santa's place, it's not tracing out a circle at all but turning on a dot, spinning around completely in the course of 24 hours, with a speed of zero. So "Santa Claus's house just rotates on itself, with every window (and door) facing south all the time."


 
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