Exploring the science of Santa, bad gifts, and Christmas trees

O Christmas tree!

Dubbed "Mr. Christmas Tree," Washington State University researcher Gary Chastagner has ambitiously set out to build a better tree. The goal: develop a tree whose branches would not shed its needles. Chastagner will, over the coming years, examine branches of different conifers, testing needle retention and cataloguing genetic markers.

"This isn't genetically modified work, just pretty much traditional genetic selection and horticulture," he told WSU Today in January 2010.

Chastagner along with Eric Hinesley in 2009 released a study in which they raised questions about the efficacy of flame retardants. The researchers suggested an ample amount of fresh, cold water is key to keeping Christmas trees green and healthy, noting some retardants in fact caused the branches of Douglas firs to dry faster than those that had not been treated at all.

Among Chastagner's other tips:

• At the tree lot, tap the butt of the tree on the ground. Brown needles will naturally fall from the tree but an abundance of green needles indicates the tree is already drying out.
• A tree with a 10 cm diameter tree trunk should be placed in about 3.8 litres of water.
• Keep the tree away from vents, fireplaces and sunlight and lower the room temperature.

Tidings of comfort and joy

The tradition of stuffing the mailbox with Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwaanza and New Year's cards is actually good for the soul, according to a 1997 Penn State study  that suggests the custom is a meaningful confirmation of relationships.

Lead researcher Karen Fingerman, a professor of human development and family studies, surveyed 87 men and women aged 24 to 87. The participants were asked about the holiday cards they received that year. They were also asked about the most significant cards they received.

"For many of the older recipients, the cards were a link to their personal past, a living memory," Fingerman said in a release. "They took them as a reaffirmation of self — of who they were and how they got to where they were. They found comfort in and derived meaning from the continued existence of a form of the social contact that transcends time and geographic distance."

Younger participants similarly reported the card giving traditions were a method to establish and maintain social contacts.

Cancer screenings best attended near Christmas

Holiday checklist: presents wrapped, stockings stuffed, cards mailed, colonoscopy scheduled?

Timing cancer screenings to coincide with Christmas, New Year's or birthday milestones may help improve attendance rates, according to a Norwegian study  released in 2008.

Researchers Geir Hoff and Michael Bretthauer recruited over 20,000 people aged 50 to 64 and assigned them a colorectal cancer screening appointment.

The study found that participation rates were highest when participants received appointment invitations in December (72.3 per cent) as compared with the remaining 11 months (64.2 per cent). People who received letters in the month of their birthday were also more likely to attend (67.9 per cent versus 64.5 per cent).

"Perception of aging may be the key factor, but other mechanisms such as "housekeeping business" or simply "getting things done" before annual milestones may also be considered as explanations for the observed difference in attendance," the study said.

Loved ones + holidays = bad gifts

Christmas gifts miss the mark? Take comfort consumers, you're not alone. Researchers in a 2006 study suggest there's a reason why people often buy the wrong presents for those they love most.

Davy Lerouge and Luk Warlop theorize, in an article published in the Journal of Consumer Research, that we often feel overconfident when buying for loved ones. Shoppers also often mistakenly assume their tastes are the same as the gift recipient's.

"Research on product attitude predictions suggests, and this research confirms, that familiarity with another consumer is not particularly helpful when predicting the other's product attitudes," the authors wrote in their study.

Lerouge and Warlop surveyed couples who had been dating for more than six months, asking them individually to select bedroom furniture they thought would appeal to their partner.

The researchers found that people tended to ignore cues about what their partner may like and go with their preconceived notions instead.

"Our results suggest that familiarity caused [people] to put an overly heavy weight on pre-stored information," the authors wrote. "The pre-stored information that people possess about their partner is extensive. This elaborate knowledge makes predictors overly confident, such that they do not even attend to product-specific attitude feedback."

Make a list, ask a stranger to check it twice

Think you'll use that juicer all the time? Before shelling out seek advice from a stranger, researchers suggested in a 2009 study that theorized we may not know ourselves as well as we think.

"People make optimistic predictions about themselves," said Albright College professor Jeffrey Vietri in a release. "They expect relationships to last longer, tasks to take less time and things to turn out generally better than they will." And when they ask for a waffle-maker for Christmas, they think, "I'll use this all the time!"

Researchers asked 164 participants how often they thought they might use an item during the holiday season. The study found that people used items 59 per cent less frequently than expected. In a second group observers were told of the participants' initial projection and were asked to make their own prediction about how much the item would be used. The group of informed observers over-predicted 10 per cent of the time.

"The informed observers took the recipient's predictions and poured salt on them," Vietri said. "If the recipient said they'd use something three times a day, the informed observers predicted they would use it closer to once a day. When they saw low predictions, they guessed the recipient would use it even less."

The study  was published in the journal Social Influence.

Secrets of Santa's souped-up sled

Santa's annual whirl around the world for many years proved an unsolved puzzle — how does he visit the homes of all the girls and boys around the globe so quickly in a creaky old sled jam-packed with presents? The answer: honeycombed titanium alloy runners, reindeers outfitted with jet-packs and a sleek nano-toymaker magic sack, according to researcher Larry Silverberg.

In a visiting scholar exchange, Silverberg — a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina's State University — learned of new technologies  Santa is continuing to develop.

"As the first scholar to participate in the SW-NPL program, I learned that we have a long way to go to catch up with Santa in fields ranging from aerodynamics and thermodynamics to materials science." Silverberg said in a 2009 release.

Aerodynamic, lightweight runners help move the sleigh quickly on land and cut through the air in flight. Laser sensors on the sleigh help Santa navigate the winter skies and a nano-structured sleigh skin reduces drag by nearly 90 per cent.

Silverberg also describes Santa's magic sack, crafted with carbon-based soot from chimneys. A reversible thermodynamic processor helps Santa create toys for children on site, thereby cutting down Santa's load of gifts.

Relativity clouds also help Santa meet his deadline, Silverberg explains.

"Based on his advanced knowledge of the theory of relativity, Santa recognizes that time can be stretched like a rubber band, space can be squeezed like an orange and light can be bent," he said. "Relativity clouds are controllable domains — rips in time — that allow him months to deliver presents while only a few minutes pass on Earth. The presents are truly delivered in a wink of an eye."

Santa Claus, public health pariah?

With a bulging belly, penchant for the pipe and absolute disregard for speed limits, Santa is a poor public health role model, suggested a recent study published in the British Medical Journal.

Australian researcher Dr. Nathan Grills in 2009 reviewed literature and web-based materials to evaluate Santa's potential negative influence. Gills suggests that families should be supportive of a dieting plan for Santa, forgoing the cookies, mince pies, milk and brandy for carrots and celery sticks. The study also proposes Santa might consider trading in his reindeer for a bike.

Santa's role as pitchman must also be scrutinized and reconsidered, Grills also argued.

"Public health needs to be aware of what giant multinational capitalists realized long ago: that Santa sells, and sometimes he sells harmful products," the study said. "Several countries, like the U.K., limit what can be advertised to children. Since Santa is a childhood icon should we prevent him from selling products such as alcohol and unhealthy foods?"

Santa: Jolly, fit and fat

Santa's ability to shrug off depression despite weight gain was the subject of a 2006 study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The researchers, from the University of Montreal, examined the competing HAHA and HOHO lifestyle characteristics in their study of St. Nick.

"As it is universally acknowledged that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole in Canada, we examined prospective Canadian population data to explore whether a HAHA (Happy, Active  Healthy, Active lifestyle) factor could balance the HOHO (Happy, Overweight  Happy, Obese)  attributes, and whether this in turn might explain why Santa remains upbeat, even if he is not trim."

The researchers postulated that a sedentary lifestyle is directly linked with a low jolly quotient. The authors suggest therefore that Santa's rigorous fitness training, a practice he follows to keep him in shape for Christmas Eve, helps boost his mood.

"[To] have the stamina to travel at light speed, Santa must follow a strict fitness regime like other racing drivers. Furthermore, ELF (Enhanced Lung Function) appears to be associated with GIFT (Graduated Intensity Fitness Training) programs. Finally, the ability to race from rooftop to rooftop and contort through chimneys of all shapes and sizes indicates that although Santa may be cheerful, he is also likely to practise JOLLY (Jogging and Life-Long Yoga). This is the secret of Santa's persona," the authors said in the study.