A Christmas misprint (and a tradition)
A favorite story as we slide into Christmas weekend ... and low power mode.
We're going to go on “low power mode” during the Christmas holiday, so we’ll mix in a few favorite stories. I have a good one today, and one tomorrow that might resonate for sure.
Also — if you need a very last-minute Christmas gift, may I recommend Life Story Magic? Remember to use code UNDERSTANDABLY2025 at checkout and you’ll get the Understandably reader discount!
I’ll also include a digital gift card that will go straight to your inbox! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!
Hey Kiddies!
“Hey, Kiddies!” Santa Claus said in a 1955 newspaper advertisement. “Call me direct on my Merry Xmas telephone: ME 2-6681.”
Only one problem. The corresponding phone number, 632-6681 in Colorado Springs, didn’t actually lead to the special Santa hotline that Sears Roebuck & Co. had set up.
Instead, because of a misprint, they’d run the number to the hotline for the Continental Air Defense Command, which was basically the precursor to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD.
In other words, Sears ran an ad encouraging 5 and 6-year-olds to call a number that was only supposed to ring in the event of nuclear war.
Fortunately for all involved, the “strait-laced” officer who answered the phone, Col. Harry Shoup, decided to play along.
After he figured out that the first little boy to call and ask, “Is this Santa Claus?” wasn’t a crank call, he began playing the role of Santa for the kids.
As the call volume picked up in the days leading to Christmas, he recruited other airmen who worked for him to answer phones.
“It got to be a big joke at the command center,” one of Shoup’s daughters, Terri Van Keuren, explained years later. “You know, ‘The old man’s really flipped his lid this time. We’re answering Santa calls.’”
Then one day, Shoup came in to find that one of his airmen had added a drawing of Santa’s sleigh and reindeer to the official map they used to track airplanes.
It gave Shoup an idea. And with that, as the result of a misprint, some kids’ phone calls, and an airman’s prank, the tradition of NORAD tracking and reporting Santa’s position to the media each Christmas was born.
What happened to the tradition? It’s 2025, so it’s live on the Internet, and of course there’s also an app. It should go live here once Santa takes off on Christmas Eve.
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, my friends. And to everyone, for 2026, I hope all your misprints, wrong numbers and pranks lead to fantastic results.
Thanks for reading, and best wishes for a wonderful holiday. Photo credits: 1 fair use, 3 U.S. government works. Ho Ho Ho.