Comments on: The Scientific Reason Why Reindeer Have Red Noses

By: Rudolph Himself

Rudolph Himself — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:35:13 +0000

Is this the true story of Rudolph? thestoryofrudolph.blogspot.com

By: Tim Upham

Tim Upham — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 23:08:52 +0000

The Saami did not like it, when their reindeer grazed on lichens covered with ice. Because it put too much water into their stomaches. So they led them to where there was snow, where they could paw through the snow for lichens. But before Christianity came to the Saami people, they like all polar peoples believed in a sun deity, which came and warmed the land, after a long, hard cold winter. It was reindeer, who flew up to greet the arrival of this deity. Where the Christmas story of flying reindeer came from. Probably brought to the United States by Scandinavian immigrants.

By: pamella

pamella — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 21:02:16 +0000

I love these Smithsonian blogs; but please don’t stress out the reindeer. Can’t you feed him instead in his natural habitat and show footage of that.

By: Doc Z

Doc Z — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 20:39:02 +0000

With a ‘damaged rack’ like this deer has, a red nose is the least of his problems.

By: J L clin

J L clin — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 18:49:59 +0000

It’s not Olaf, it’s Olive the other reindeer.

By: Bill Moniz

Bill Moniz — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 18:41:39 +0000

…and all along I thought Santa had a Duracell battery pack and light bulb attached to Rudy’s nose.

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 17:12:07 +0000

Interesting! I hope that everyone’s Sunday is going great and safe and I hope that they have a merry Christmas.

By: Kenneth Hicks

Kenneth Hicks — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 16:58:51 +0000

Well, Rudolph is the ninth, Olaf must be 10th and of course it’s Olive, the other reindeer.

But in truth, the packed red nose creates a bubble of heat which radiates back as the reindeer fly, creating warmth and light in particularly nasty winter weather . . . once they cross the equater, the packed nose then radiates excess heat outward, creating a streaming beacon across the southern night skies!

By: ana

ana — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 15:40:09 +0000

…..and when they have a layover in Hawaii?

By: Larry

Larry — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 15:04:00 +0000

If only a fraction of reindeer have red noses and the red noses are due to the dense array of blood vessels, do the rest of the reindeer (Olaf the others) NOT have a dense array of blood vessels in their noses?

By: Bob77021

Bob77021 — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 14:30:24 +0000

It’s not “Olaf the other reindeer”.

It’s “Olive, the other reindeer”. Therefore, there are only TWO reindeer. Rudolph and Olive.

Merry Christmas !!!

By: Peter M. Lutterbeck, M.D.

Peter M. Lutterbeck, M.D. — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 12:50:20 +0000

And I thought all along that reindeer along with their humans who look after them were given schnaps to dilate those facial blood vessels…so, what do ya know? Ain’t this site just grand?

By: JoelB

JoelB — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 20:00:19 +0000

Look closely at the first picture of the reindeer. That’s no reindeer! That’s a unicorn!

By: Tarara Boumdier

Tarara Boumdier — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 19:22:34 +0000

I don’t know if you remember, but Santa actually has NINE reindeer.
You know; “Olaf the other reindeer…”

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 16:39:36 +0000

Wait, you put a reindeer on a treadmill and didn’t show us footage of that?!?