Christmas
Do All Those Cookies Create a Problem for Santa?
It seems that Santa has some weight challenges – no small wonder with all of the cookies and milk left out for him on Christmas Eve! Plus, he uses a sleigh pulled by reindeer so he just slides down the chimney which might be tough with that belly and big bag of presents, but it doesn’t use up a whole lot of calories.
On Christmas Eve, Santa visits an estimated 92 million households. Walking.about.com figures that if all households were evenly distributed across the earth, Santa would travel 0.78 miles between houses — for a total of 71,760,000 (71.8 million) miles.
Guessing Santa’s weight at 250 pounds and that he moves pretty quickly – he does have to get his deliveries done in one night – it’s estimated that he would burn 13 billion calories.
If Santa climbed stairs delivering his presents — Big12Hoops calculates that he would climb the equivalent of 9.5 billion stairs – he would burn 0.11 calories for each stair, or 1.045 billion calories. That’s far fewer than 13 billion calories – but it’s still a whole lot of energy expenditure that would leave him mighty thin – maybe too thin to be seen – by Christmas morning.
But what about all the milk and cookies left for him in front of fireplaces and Christmas trees?
Can Santa Burn Off All The Milk And Cookies?
Two small cookies and a cup of skim milk (no full fat dairy for Santa, he might have cholesterol issues) clock in at about 200 calories. If Santa snacked at each of the 92 million households, he would chow down on 18.4 billion calories.
That would mean he would gain 1,529,350 pounds every Christmas. If he walked instead of rode in his sleigh –Rudolph is probably well-trained enough to take the lead without Santa’s hands on the reins — he’d have to circle the earth 1,183 times to burn off the extra calories.
What If Santa Snacked On Veggies Instead Of Cookies?
If Santa had a cup of carrot and celery sticks rather than cookies and milk he’d have just 50 calories at each house — which adds up to 4.6 billion calories. Since he would burn off 13 billion calories by walking, he’d actually lose all of his weight and disappear.
Maybe the best idea for him would be a nice combination of veggies at most households and cookies and low fat milk every thousand or so households to keep him in caloric balance!
Rudolph Really Does Have A Red Glowing Nose!
Poor Rudolph — he’s had to put up with all of those clown nose jokes over the years.
But wait — it turns out that scientists have determined that reindeer have more abundant blood vessels in their noses than humans. The British Medical Journal reports that a team of scientists and researchers used a hand-held video microscope to observe the nasal capillaries of reindeer as they ran on a treadmill. No joke!
The capillaries in reindeer noses are 25% thicker than those in human noses. Those capillaries are critical for heating and cooling, delivering oxygen, and humidifying inhaled air so the hardworking reindeer noses don’t freeze. (The research does have potential human application).
The mystery of Rudolph’s red nose is a mystery no longer. The explanation: reindeer have a large number of red blood cells that flow through small nasal vessels – which makes reindeer noses glow.
Merry Christmas!
If Santa Walked Instead of Riding In His Sleigh — How Many Calories Would He Burn?
Clement Clarke Moore, an Episcopal minister, is largely responsible for the image of Santa Claus as a “right jolly old elf” with a portly figure and the supernatural ability to ascend a chimney with a mere nod of his head. In 1822 he wrote a long Christmas poem called “An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas, ” commonly called ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, which helped popularize the image of Santa Claus flying from house to house in “a miniature sleigh” led by eight flying reindeer (the legendary Rudolph with his glowing red nose didn’t make his first appearance until 1939).
In 1881 political cartoonist Thomas Nast used Moore’s poem to create our modern image of Santa Claus showing Santa as a rotund, cheerful man with a full, white beard, holding a sack filled with children’s toys. Nast gave Santa his bright red suit trimmed with white fur, the North Pole workshop, elves, and Mrs. Claus.
How Many Calories Does Santa Burn On His Christmas Rounds?
Even Santa has weight challenges – and most certainly he has a lot of carb and calorie temptation with all of the cookies and milk left out for him! He uses a sleigh pulled by reindeer that lands him on the roof – so he doesn’t get much exercise just sliding down the chimney (tough with that belly and bag of presents. Should Santa change to walking for transport and eat healthier throughout Christmas Eve?
On Christmas Eve, Santa visits an estimated 92 million households. Walking.about.com figures that if all households were evenly distributed across the earth, Santa would travel 0.78 miles between houses, or 71,760,000 (71.8 million) miles.
Guessing Santa’s weight at 250 pounds and that he’s a walking pretty fast walker – he has to be to get his deliveries done in one night – walking.about.com’s calorie counter estimates that he would burn 13 billion calories.
Would He Burn Off All That Milk And Cookies?
Two small cookies and a cup of skim milk (giving households the benefit of doubt about full fat dairy) clock in at about 200 calories. If Santa snacks at each of the 92 million households, that works out to a payday of 18.4 billion calories.
So, Santa would gain 1,529,350 pounds every Christmas Eve — even if he walked instead of rode in his sleigh. Walking, he’d have to circle the Earth 1,183 times to burn off the extras.
What If He Snacked On Veggies Instead Of Cookies?
Maybe Santa is a modern weight conscious man. If he had a cup of carrot and celery sticks at each house rather than cookies and milk, he would have just 50 calories at each house which would add up to 4.6 billion calories. Since he would burn off 13 billion calories by walking, he’d actually lose all of his weight and disappear. Maybe the best idea for him would be a nice combination of veggies at most households and cookies or skim milk every few households to keep him in caloric balance.
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Happy And Healthy Holidays to You And Your Pets
It’s a time of celebration for both you and your pets.
As the big week of celebrations approaches, here are some quick tips to keep your pet family members safe and healthy during the winter holidays.
- If the weather turns nasty and you need to use salt and de-icing materials, remember that they can get into your pet’s paws and onto their stomachs as they climb over snow mounds. Wipe their paws and tummies with a damp rag. Antifreeze tastes sweet to dogs and cats so mop up any spills and bottle drips.
- We find tree ornaments fun to look at and pets absolutely adore them, but metal, glass, ribbons, styrofoam and tinsel can cause serious medical emergencies for your pet. So can artificial snow and the snow in snow globes. Ditto for holiday wrappings that get thrown around and fall everywhere. These can be a hazard for little kids, too.
- We may want our homes to look festive, but ivy, holly, mistletoe, lilies, poinsettia, and some Christmas greens can be toxic to pets if they nibble on them. Christmas tree water with tree preservative can be attractive to thirsty pets — and harmful, too.
- The holidays are a time to welcome visitors into your home. Too much activity and too many people can frighten your pets — and sometimes cause them to run away. Consider putting them in a room away from the roaring crowd and make certain they are wearing collars with current tags.
- Oh how we love to feast on our holiday treats! So do our pets. My Golden Retriever, Rufus, was carbo-dog and adored desserts. Spike, my pug, given his druthers, would eat anything, anytime, anywhere. Some foods can be harmful and cause GI or choking problems. Chocolate that is so prevalent in holiday treats can be quite harmful to our pets. We truly love out animals, but giving them table scraps is not a good way to show it. And — if you don’t want the leftovers, send them home with visitors or toss them– don’t feed them to the dog — not all of them are healthy for animals.