It may be summer, but it’s never too early to get in the spirit of science!
Japan has its fair share of Santa Clausess: there’re Sushi Santas, Underwater Santas, and even Santa Biker Gangs. But one thing they’re all lacking is something only the real Santa possesses: a giant sonic boom that would wipe out all life on Earth.
Yes, you read that right. According to Professor Suzuki from the Japanese Physics Institute, if Santa Claus were real, he would destroy the Earth as we know it during his attempt to bring presents to children all over the world.
Watch the full video explanation here, or scroll down for some highlights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qfnclsTXnI
▼ Truly the face of a man who is ready to destroy Santa Claus.
There’s a lot of math, but basically it comes down to Santa needing to travel 120 million kilometers (74.5 million miles) in 31 hours, resulting in a speed of 1,040 kilometers per second (2.3 million miles per hour). And taking into account all the presents and reindeer necessary to pull the load, his sleigh would weigh about 870,000 tons.
And when something weighing 870,000 tons moves at 1,040 kilometers per second, about 3,000 times the speed of sound, you get an apocalyptic sonic boom.
▼ December 24th may be Christmas eve, but as the professor’s sign puts it,
it’s also the end of the world.
▼ ….hooray :(
Who knew that Santa Claus was such a disaster waiting to happen? Although, I can empathize. Every time I try spreading a little Christmas cheer, all I ever end up doing is blowing up parts of the Earth too. Sigh.
Here’s how Japanese netizens reacted to the surprising sonic boom science:
“lol physics is awesome.”
“Maybe if Santa recruited some others to help he could prevent this.”
“But Santa only gives presents to good kids, so really he shouldn’t have to visit more than a couple houses.”
“There is a contradiction here: Santa should create a sonic boom, but there has never been one. The only answer: there are multiple Santas out there… and they are all mostly parents.
If you’re in the mood for some more disturbing revelations, check out the science behind Attack on Titan, or how Pokémon GO spawns its common Pokémon. You’ll never look at a Pidgey the same way again.
Source: YouTube/animax movie via Hachima Kiko
Images: YouTube/animax movie