How the U.S. Military Turned Santa Claus Into a Cold War Icon

By Matt Novak

How the U.S. Military Turned Santa Claus Into a Cold War Icon

You’ve probably heard the story by now: On Christmas Eve 1955, a young boy in Colorado Springs dialed a Sears-sponsored hotline that let kids talk with Santa Claus. But instead of reaching Santa, he was connected to the red phone at CONAD, the military command center charged with patrolling the skies for any nuclear missiles coming from the Soviet Union. The local newspaper had mistakenly printed the wrong number.

…read more

Source:: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/n4bP6jvPllA/how-the-u-s-military-turned-santa-claus-into-a-cold-wa-1664149776

      

Leave a Reply