Tyson made several viral posts attempting to debunk the mythology of Santa Claus using science on Christmas Eve, Friday.
“Since the Northern Arctic is just ocean, Santa’s North Pole workshop has only ever existed on a floating sheet of ice. Images that portray Santa’s workshop with pine trees and snow-capped hills on the horizon are geographically underinformed,” claimed Tyson in one tweet, while in others he suggested that Santa’s reindeer would not have antlers in winter and that his sleigh would be vaporized if he traveled at hypersonic speeds.
Tyson also suggested that Santa Claus could soon be clutching to a melting ice floe due to climate change and encouraged children to leave Santa carrots and celery so he would become “much, much thinner.”
Though some people found the tweets amusing and educational, others were less pleased with Tyson’s attempt to tear down Santa on Christmas Eve – comparing the astrophysicist to the villainous ‘Grinch’.
“This is why people don’t like atheists. You post this on Christmas Eve?” one person wrote, while another tweeted, “Even a Christmas miracle wouldn’t get this man to shut up.”
Others tried to explain to Tyson that Santa and his sleigh are “magical and therefore not subject to the otherwise indisputable laws of physics,” and told the astrophysicist to “get a grip.”
It’s not the first time Tyson has sparked controversy at Christmas. In 2014, Tyson was accused of insulting Christians after he posted a December 25 message that read, “On this day long ago, a child was born who, by age 30, would transform the world. Happy Birthday Isaac Newton b. Dec 25, 1642.”
On Christmas Day in 2019 Tyson also wished “Muslims, Atheists, Hindus, Buddhists, Pagans, & Jews” a “Happy Wednesday.” Jewish social media users accused Tyson of being ignorant, pointing out that it was “currently a Jewish holiday” too.
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