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December 19, 2008

Strange But True!

Q. What noises DON'T we hear that silent night before Christmas, thanks to Santa's considerate use of the best in sleigh sound-damping technology?

A. Imagine Santa's challenge: There are some 2.1 billion kids under age 18, at about 2.5 per household, meaning he's got to make some 840 million stops totaling roughly 220 million miles, estimates Roger Highfield in “The Physics Of Christmas.” He's got all night to do it, or 48 hours if he tracks backward against the Earth's rotation (time zones). So it figures Santa has a little over 2/10,000 second for each of the 840 million households.


 
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