Name: 如果聖誕老人真的在一個晚上送出了禮物呢？ (What If Santa Really Delivered Presents In One Night?)
Uploaded: 2020-12-05T21:01:30.000Z
Duration: 4 min 16 s

程度副詞

Every Christmas Eve, certain traditions say that Santa has just one night to deliver presents to millions of children around the globe.

每逢聖誕前夕，一些習俗說：「聖誕老人一個晚上要為全球各地數百萬兒童送禮物。」

情態助動詞 B1

Now, this might seem unreasonable from a scientific perspective.

現在，從科學的角度來看，這似乎是不太合理的。

情態副詞

But we wondered: exactly how unreasonable is it?

但我們想知道，這到底有多不合理？

Overall, it's difficult to determine how many people around the world celebrate a Santa-centric Christmas on December 25th.

總的來說，很難確定世界上有多少人會在 12 月 25 日慶祝一個以聖誕老人為中心的聖誕節。

But if we consider certain religious and cultural traditions, we get a rough estimate of about 600 million people.

但如果依照著某些宗教和文化傳統來算，我們粗略估計約有六億人。

Now, let's say each household has, on average, two and a half kids.

現在我們假設每個家庭平均有 2.5 個孩子。

So Santa only needs to visit 240 million homes.

所以，聖誕老人只需要拜訪 2.4 億戶人家。

Even better? He has more time to get the job done than you might think.

更棒的是？他有比你想像中更多的時間來完成這個工作。

Legend has it that he drops by when the kids are asleep.

傳說他都在孩子們睡覺的時候送禮物。

所以他有八個小時的時間，對吧？

There are 24 broad time zones worldwide, each one hour apart.

全球有 24 個時區，各相隔一小時。

So factor in the different Christmas Eve start times across the planet, and Kringle's got a luxurious 31 hours to make his deliveries.

所以因為地球上平安夜開始時間的不同，聖誕老人會有充足的 31 個小時的去分送禮物。

Unfortunately, this is where his luck runs out.

不幸的是，這就是他的運氣用盡的時候了 。

Because just to reach every house, he'll have to fly 1,200 times faster than the world's fastest jet fighter.

因為光是要到達每戶人家，他就必須飛得比世界上最快的噴氣式戰鬥機快 1200 倍。

That's a lot to ask of nine reindeer, which can only gallop up to 80 kilometers per hour on average, way too slow.

對九隻馴鹿來說要求太高了，而一隻馴鹿平均時速只有每小時 80 公里，這樣太慢了。

But to be fair, that's the best they can do on the ground.

但說句公道話，這就是他們在地面上最快的速度了。

Since we don't know exactly how fast a reindeer can fly, let's assume they can manage those incredible speeds.

由於我們不知道馴鹿到底能飛多快，讓我們假設他們真的能達到那令人難以置信的速度。

Even then, the load they have to lug is much too heavy for them.

即使如此，對他們來說要拖著這些行囊太重了。

If every kid receives a single mid-sized Lego set, the bag alone would weigh a whopping 600,000 tons, or about 20 Statue of Liberties.

如果每個孩子都收到一套中型樂高的話，光是袋子的重量就高達 60 萬噸或約 20 個自由女神像的重量。

Meanwhile, the average reindeer can pull up to twice their weight, or about 225 kilograms.

同時，普通馴鹿可以拉得起比自己還重兩倍的東西，也就是 225 公斤左右。

所以，那些馴鹿根本哪都去不了。

And even if they could, well, it wouldn't be pretty.

即使真的能，也不會是漂亮優雅的。

For starters, the team would create a massive sonic boom as they hurdle through the air at 3,000 times faster than the speed of sound, deafening any bystanders on the ground below.

首先，當牠們以比音速快 3000 倍的速度在空中奔跑跳躍，會製造出巨大的音爆，讓地面上所有的旁觀者都震耳欲聾。

Once Rudolph and Co take off, they vaporize before they reach their first house.

一旦魯道夫和同伴們起飛，牠們在到達第一間房子之前就會蒸發了。

Just like how a rocket heats up when it re-enters the atmosphere at tremendous speeds, the reindeer would heat to blistering temperatures that would turn them into venison jerky.

就像火箭以極快的速度重新進入大氣層時會升溫一樣，馴鹿會產生極高的溫度，把自己變成鹿肉乾。

And Santa wouldn't fare much better because he's sitting on what amounts to the worst roller-coaster ride on Earth.

聖誕老人也好不到哪裡去，因為他坐在堪稱地球上最糟糕的雲霄飛車。

When a typical coaster accelerates, you get pushed back against your seat.

當一個普通的雲霄飛車加速時，你會被推倒在你的座位上。

But in Santa's case, to accelerate to those extreme speeds makes for a much stronger push.

但以聖誕老人的情況來說，上升到極致的速度會使推動力更強。

A force tens of thousands of times stronger than gravity would pin into the sleigh, smashing his bones and internal organs to jelly.

比地心引力強數萬倍的力量會壓在雪橇上，把他的骨頭和內臟都搗碎成果凍。

Let's assume Santa and friends miraculously survive this ordeal.

我們假設聖誕老人和朋友們都奇蹟般地撐過了這場考驗。

He slips his conveniently boneless body through chimney after chimney, drops off the gifts, and now gets to munch on his well-deserved treats.

他用他無骨身體方便地滑進一個又一個的煙囪，放下禮物，接著現在他就可以享用他應得的美食了。

If every household offers him three sugar cookies and one 8-ounce glass of whole milk, that's 720 million cookies and enough milk to fill 23 Olympic swimming pools total.

如果每戶人家都給他三塊甜餅乾和一杯八盎司的全脂牛奶，那將是 7.2 億塊餅乾和足夠裝滿 23 個奧林匹克游泳池的牛奶量。

Now, that adds up to 396 billion calories,

現在，這加起來會有 3960 億卡路里。

plenty to see him through his hibernation until Christmas comes round again.

這足夠他度過冬眠期，直到明年聖誕節再次到來。