Famous American astrophysicist and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson has managed to cause quite a stir on social media this Christmas with a slew of Santa-related tweets.
In one of these posts, the scientist pointed out why the story of Santa Claus delivering gifts to children on Christmas night does not hold water from scientific point of view.
“For Santa to deliver gifts to all world's Christians in one night requires hypersonic speeds through Earth’s lower atmosphere, vaporising his reindeer & sleigh,” Tyson tweeted.
A number of social media users, however, playfully countered the scientist’s assertion by providing possible fantastic explanations of how Santa’s overnight journey might be feasible.
And some just joked about Tyson ruining the Christmas magic.
In a follow up tweet, the scientist also mused that “maybe Santa’s Reindeer are stationary, and it is we who fly past them on Christmas Eve”, noting that it is “something Einstein’s Theory of Relativity never considered”.
That tweet, too, evoked a number of rather amused replies from netizens.
And in yet another holiday-related tweet, Tyson suggested that Santa would probably be “much thinner” if people were to leave “carrots, celery, & hot tea” on the table for him instead of the customary milk and cookies, with social media users joking about the possible consequences of such alteration of the Christmas tradition.