This new paper somehow avoids saying the most important thing it could say: Santa Claus, like everyone else, ought to be diligent about getting an annual flu shot. The study is: “What would happen if Santa Claus was sick? His impact on communicable disease transmission,” Yuki Furuse, The Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 211, no. […]
Tag: Santa
The “Santa Claus Effect” – positive or negative? (two viewpoints)
Here’s the abstract of a 2017 study by Professor Brendan Kelly, Consultant Psychiatrist at Tallaght Hospital, School of Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Background: Christmas “is the season to be jolly” but, despite many recent studies of happiness and wellbeing, the population distribution of jollity is unknown. Aims: To assess levels of jollity across Europe, […]
A look back at the research showing kids at malls mostly don’t like Santa
It’s nearly Christmas, a good time to look back at the research showing kids at malls mostly don’t like Santa Claus.
Santa Claus Internet Jokes (a Latvian study)
Guntis Pakalns, who is senior researcher, Dr.philol. at the Archives of Latvian Folklore, Institute for Literature, Folklore and Art at University of Latvia, has collated a unique and very extensive collection of Christmas-related humorous images and video clips found on the Internet. Dr. Pakalns outlines his project thus: “The central part of the article is […]
The limited power of Santa Claus
As Christmas approaches, Santas appear in shopping malls (in at least some countries). Ig Nobel Prize-winner John Trinkaus’s series of studies [discussed here] illuminate a sad truth about the situation. The first and last of them: 1. “Visiting Santa: an informal look,” John Trinkaus, Psychological Reports, 2004 Oct;95(2):587-8. “Using a modified six cartoon-face rating scale, […]