Results: Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
Published on 12/13/2019
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1.
1.
The most famous reindeer of them all -- Rudolph -- is actually Rudolpha. That's right, Santa's head reindeer Rudolph the red nosed reindeer is actually female. Unlike other members of the deer family, both male and female reindeer grow antlers in most populations. Edinburgh University professors Gerald Lincoln and David Baird say Rudolph cannot be a male because only female reindeer still have antlers at Christmas. Males shed theirs before mid-December, while females don't shed theirs until the spring. Did you know this about Rudolph?
Yes
22%
510 votes
No
70%
1636 votes
Undecided
8%
180 votes
2.
2.
Did you know these other reindeer facts?
Historically, the European/Asian reindeer and American Caribou were considered to be different species, but they are actually one and the same.
13%
301 votes
Reindeer comes from the Old Norse word "hreinin," which means "horned animal." Caribou is based on the French word for "snow shoveler," in reference to the animal's habit of digging through the snow for food.
9%
200 votes
Reindeer are ideally designed for life in hostile, cold environments.
25%
581 votes
While not all reindeer migrate, some of them travel further than any other migrating terrestrial mammal.
12%
277 votes
Their eyes change color from gold in the summer to blue in the winter. .
4%
97 votes
Reindeer hooves are soft during warmer months, but in the winter, their hooves become hard and sharp for breaking through the ice to forage vegetation.
7%
164 votes
All
5%
127 votes
None
60%
1391 votes
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3.
The legend of Santa Claus goes way back, but he has only used reindeer to pull his sleigh full of toys for the past 200 years or so. In 1821, William Gilley published a booklet for children about "Santeclaus", entitled A New Year's Present, to the Little Ones from Five to Twelve Number III: The Children's Friend. It was the first literary reference connecting reindeer with Santa. Which other reindeer references did you know about?
A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement C. Moore in 1823 (better known today as Twas the Night Before Christmas) named the standard 8 tiny reindeer -- Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, and Blixen (the last two have been modified to Donder/Donner and Blitzen).
23%
531 votes
The character Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in 1939 by Robert L. May as an advertising gimmick for Montgomery Ward. The store distributed millions of coloring books featuring Rudolph between 1939 and 1944.
17%
401 votes
May's brother-in-law Johnny Marks wrote a song about Rudolph, which was featured in the cartoon. It was recorded by Gene Autry and became a hit in 1949.
14%
329 votes
Rankin-Bass produced a stop-motion animated Christmas special of the story, which first aired in 1964. Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer became the longest-running holiday special ever.
14%
329 votes
Robbie the Reindeer is the son of Rudolph and a character in two BBC comedy specials.
6%
130 votes
Olive, the Other Reindeer was the subject of a 1997 book and a 1999 Christmas special produced by Matt Groening. The title is a pun from the line "all of the other reindeer" from the Rudolph song.
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198 votes
In the 1962 Ray Steven's song "Santa Claus is Watching You" (rerecorded in 1985), more reindeer were added to the herd, namely Bruce, Marvin, Leon, Cletus, George, Bill, Slick, Do-right, Clyde, Ace, Blackie, Queenie, Prince, Spot, and Rover.
6%
143 votes
Loretta Lyn had a song in 1974 named "Shadrack, the Black Reindeer". Shadrack helped an aging Rudolph to lead the team that year.
3%
77 votes
In 1995, Joe Diffie released "Leroy the Redneck Reindeer", who led the team one year when Rudolph had a cold.
5%
117 votes
All
5%
106 votes
None
58%
1339 votes
4.
4.
And if you put out cookies and milk for Santa, do you also put out a treat for the reindeer? Reindeer are usually vegetarians, but occasionally have been known to eat lemmings (those adorable little rodents made famous with that mass-suicide myth). So, this year, will you be putting out a snack for the reindeer?
Yes, as usual!
17%
385 votes
Yes, this year I will
6%
146 votes
No
30%
700 votes
I don't put out a snack for Santa (or his reindeer)
28%
658 votes
Don't celebrate Christmas
7%
153 votes
Don't believe in Santa
12%
284 votes
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