Sat, Nov 18, 2006
NORAD Doesn't Think So...
The North American
Aerospace Defense Command announced yesterday it activated its
"NORAD Tracks Santa" website for 2006. This marks the 51st season
NORAD will track Santa Claus on his annual journey around the
world.
The US-Canadian command's program began in 1955 when a young
child made an errant phone call to the Operations Center of
the Continental Air Defense Command in Colorado Springs, CO -- the
CADC was NORAD's predecessor. The youngster dialed a misprinted
telephone number in a local newspaper advertisement.
The child wanted to know Santa's whereabouts. The commander
taking the call couldn't stand to let the little guy down, so he
answered the question with military precision! Thus was born the
tradition of NORAD tracking Santa.
The program has grown immensely since it was first presented on
the Internet in 1998. Last year, the site received 912 million
"hits" from 204 countries and territories.
The "NORAD Tracks Santa" Operations Center, manned by 550
volunteers on Christmas Eve, answered some 55,000 phone calls and
over 98,000 e-mails from children around the world.
The site features the history of the program, information on how
NORAD actually tracks Santa and interactive games.
Also on the site you can find NORAD contact info including phone
numbers and email addresses kids can use to correspond with center
personnel. There's also an email address for Santa.
On Dec. 24, beginning at 2am Mountain Time, the site will
feature a minute-by-minute update on Santa's travels around the
world. All information is available English, French, German,
Italian, Japanese and Spanish.
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