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amused Not even Santa and his reindeer are safe from the military. Amazingly enough (or maybe not, since this one readily agreed to pay for its mistake resulting in death to Rudolph), it wasn't the US Air Force...
COPENHAGEN, Denmark - The Danish Air Force said Thursday it paid 31,175 kroner ($5,032) in compensation to a part-time Santa Claus whose reindeer died of heart failure when two fighter jets roared over his farm.
The animal, named Rudolf, was grazing peacefully at the central Denmark farm of Olavi Nikkanoff, when the screaming F-16 jets passed overhead at low altitude in February.
The reindeer collapsed and died, leaving Nikkanoff with the prospect of only one animal pulling his sleigh next Christmas.
He complained to the air force, which agreed to compensate him for the cost of the reindeer and veterinary expenses.
"We got a letter from Santa complaining about his reindeer's death and looked into it seriously," said air force spokesman, Capt. Morten Jensen.
The air force checked flight data and veterinary reports and concluded the planes likely caused the animal's death.
"We're more than happy to pay if it means that children around the world will get their presents," Jensen said.
Nikkanoff said he was satisfied with the compensation and would use it to buy a new reindeer before Christmas.
The burning questions...can Rudolph actually be replaced? What will happen if Christmas Eve is foggy this year? If Santa only has two reindeer, what happened to the other 7? How can they play reindeer games with only 2? When did Ole Saint Nick change is name to Olavi Nikkanoff? (What's he Nikkan off?)
September 29 2005, 20:05:39 UTC 6 years ago
September 30 2005, 00:25:52 UTC 6 years ago
*waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa*
Santa will be just fine, remember that reindeer males loose thier antlers in winter, only the females retain thier antlers...so of course the old punchline with the grain of truth is..
All of Santa's Reindeer from Dasher to Rudolph were females, the only reason a fat man in a red suit could find his way around the world in one night.
;)