Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicolas, Kris Kringle, Sinterklaas. Call him what you will, at this time of year, for children who celebrate everywhere, many questions of a scientific nature arise and parents squirm in their efforts to answer them.
Now, Gregory Mone, a contributing editor at Popular Science, tells us to forget all about the fat, jolly bloke dressed in red, the elves, Mrs Claus and an Arctic home. Apparently, Santa is actually from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and he’s not nearly as fat as he used to be. More to the point though, technology has caught up with the old guy and eavesdropping ornament implants, cloning and wormholes are all now at Santa’s disposal on Christmas Eve.
This affectionate book published for the first time today in the UK, billed as hilarious and fantastically illustrated is the perfect 2010 complement to Roger Highfield’s 2002 book Can Reindeer Fly?: The Science of Christmas. Put The Truth About Santa on your amazon wishlist and just hope that Santa’s checking online in plenty of time for Christmas.