The science of Santa

Father Christmas really is a magical man! Based on the fact that there are around 2.1 billion children spread over 842 million different households across the world, we’d say Father Christmas has his work cut out for him come Christmas Eve! He’d have to travel about 218 million miles in one night, allowing him one thousandth of a second to shimmy down each chimney, dish out the gifts, refuel on mince pies and get back up to his sleigh. And to ensure he has enough presents for everyone, his sleigh would need to be strong enough to carry about 400,000 tonnes, requiring roughly 360,000 reindeer to pull it!