Santa Tracker Lets You See Exactly Where He Is Right Now
‘Has he been?’ With NORAD’s Santa tracker, you can keep tabs on the big man this Christmas.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro’ the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their head.
Growing up, we’d never be certain when Santa would arrive; we just had to close our eyes and hope for the best come Christmas morning. Now, we can actually track Father Christmas as he soars across the globe in his sleigh, along with Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph.
Loading…
At the time of writing, Santa Claus is flying across the Hawaii. He reached the UK at around midnight, coming after drop-offs in Oceania, Asia, Eastern Europe and most of Africa. He’s also wearing a face mask, because Santa is responsible with his gift-giving in the midst of a pandemic.
NORAD’s Santa tracker dates back to 1955, when a young child accidentally dialled the CONAD Operations Centre trying to find Santa after a misprint in a Sears advert. Colonel Harry Shoup, then-director of operations, asked his staff to check the radar for where Santa may have been. From 1958 onwards, it led to a tradition of annual Santa reporting.
‘Later in life, [Shoup] got letters from all over the world, people saying, ‘Thank you, Colonel,’ for having, you know, this sense of humour. And in his 90s, he would carry those letters around with him in a briefcase that had a lock on it like it was top-secret information. You know, he was an important guy, but this is the thing he’s known for,’ his daughter Terri Van Keuren told NPR.
4 months agoAccording to NORAD, Santa’s sleigh is a ‘versatile, all weather, multi-purpose, vertical short-take-off and landing vehicle’ capable of speeds ‘faster than starlight’.
You can watch NORAD’s Santa tracker here. You can also download the app from the App Store or Google Play Store.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
Topics: Technology, Christmas, Life, Now, Santa Claus
