# Penguins and Christmas **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 19, 2007, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566 "2007-12-19T13:36:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/1 "2007-12-19T13:36:37Z")
What the hell is it with you people and penguins? Santa and his elves live at the _North_ Pole. Penguins live in the _Southern Hemisphere._ Is there some kind of elf strike and Santa had to import foreign workers? Are they illegal immigrant penguins, stealing elfin jobs for less money? How can they make toys without and fingers? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/2 "2007-12-19T14:09:34Z")
I have long suspected the reason for penquin-mania is the fact they are black and white and so are easy to print. Before penquins it was B&W cows. Next? Zebras, I’m thinking ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/3 "2007-12-19T14:14:33Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] I have long suspected the reason for penquin-mania is the fact they are black and white and so are easy to print. Before penquins it was B&W cows. Next? Zebras, I’m thinking [/QUOTE] Nah, it’ll be them friggin’ pandas again, you mark my words. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/4 "2007-12-19T14:17:35Z")
[QUOTE=WotNot] them friggin’ pandas [/QUOTE] Good point. Pandas have thumbs. ---
**Author:** ![mikemo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/41988e/32.png) [@mikemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/5 "2007-12-19T14:23:27Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] What the hell is it with you people and penguins? Santa and his elves live at the _North_ Pole. Penguins live in the _Southern Hemisphere._ Is there some kind of elf strike and Santa had to import foreign workers? Are they illegal immigrant penguins, stealing elfin jobs for less money? How can they make toys without and fingers? [/QUOTE] Besides…I thought _everyone_ knew that Polar bears are a penguin’s natural enemy. They’d never survive at the North Pole! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/6 "2007-12-19T14:30:40Z")
We think of Christmas with Snow. The Classic New England Christmas, The North Pole being a land of snow, “White Christmas”, etc. It is typical for people to associate Polar Bears, Reindeer and Penguins with snow. We have seen cartoons[sup]1[/sup] for years that had Penguins and Polar Bears hanging out together and of course now the Coke commercials. Jim [sup]1[/sup] [Chilly Willy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilly_Willy) being the best example. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/7 "2007-12-19T14:33:25Z")
[QUOTE=mikemo] Polar bears are a penguin’s natural enemy. They’d never survive at the North Pole! 😃 [/QUOTE] How can they be their natural enemy if they’ve not seen each other? Are you agreeing with me, or what? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/8 "2007-12-19T14:35:31Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] The Classic New England Christmas, It is typical for people to associate Polar Bears, Reindeer and Penguins with snow. [/QUOTE] Oh, so now we’ve got penguins in New England? I’ve been to New Hampshire, Pal, and I never saw any damn penguins. Big ol’ gray geese with big ol’ fat babies, but not any penguins. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![mikemo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/41988e/32.png) [@mikemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/9 "2007-12-19T14:38:38Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] How can they be their natural enemy if they’ve not seen each other? Are you agreeing with me, or what? 🙂 [/QUOTE] I don’t know why it is, but that’s the way of it. They’ve _always_ been natural enemies!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mikemo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/41988e/32.png) [@mikemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/10 "2007-12-19T14:39:40Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Oh, so now we’ve got penguins in New England? I’ve been to New Hampshire, Pal, and I never saw any damn penguins. Big ol’ gray geese with big ol’ fat babies, but not any penguins. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] Ever get to Boston? There’s penguins there… …in the New England Aquarium! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/11 "2007-12-19T15:32:29Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Oh, so now we’ve got penguins in New England? I’ve been to New Hampshire, Pal, and I never saw any damn penguins. Big ol’ gray geese with big ol’ fat babies, but not any penguins. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] Funny, but of course I was talking about how we associate Christmas with Snow in that part of my post. Leading to the fact that we also associate Penguins with Snow and so therefore we associate Penguins with Christmas. Either that or you weigh the same as a duck and you are a witch. Say, your nose looks awfully suspicious and there was that time you turned me into a newt. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/12 "2007-12-19T15:33:18Z")
[QUOTE=mikemo] …in the New England Aquarium! 🙂 [/QUOTE] What about Polar Bears? That would explain a lot. ---
**Author:** ![mikemo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/41988e/32.png) [@mikemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/13 "2007-12-19T15:35:41Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] What about Polar Bears? That would explain a lot. [/QUOTE] Nope. No Polar Bears in the NE Aquarium, else the penguins wouldn’t be there! Carnivorous plants are sooooo silly! ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/14 "2007-12-19T15:47:36Z")
Chilly Willy is a mob boss trying to get a piece of the Santa’s toy-building action. He’s joined forces with Union President Tennessee Tuxedo, BDFSB (Brotherhood of Dichromatic Flightless Sea Birds) in trying to elbow the UEM (United Elf Manufacturers)out of its toybuilding gig. Most haven’t realized it yet, but Willy was instrumental in the BDFSB’s successfull bid to push Santa aside for the current Coke promos. Though they are currently paid about 10 percent more than Santa did in previous years, many feel that St. Nick “threw” those negotiations. Could this be tied to Mrs. Santa being missing for 4 months? It wouldn’t be the first time kidnapping came into play in the hemispheric labor wars. Me thinks you’d better get used to seeing penguins at Christmas time. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/15 "2007-12-19T15:49:42Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] there was that time you turned me into a newt. [/QUOTE] Newt my ass. It was an [anole.](http://www.pbase.com/joelmcneal/image/82856560) ---
**Author:** ![mikemo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/41988e/32.png) [@mikemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/16 "2007-12-19T16:31:00Z")
[QUOTE=ChiefScott] Chilly Willy is a mob boss trying to get a piece of the Santa’s toy-building action. He’s joined forces with Union President Tennessee Tuxedo, BDFSB (Brotherhood of Dichromatic Flightless Sea Birds) in trying to elbow the UEM (United Elf Manufacturers)out of its toybuilding gig. Most haven’t realized it yet, but Willy was instrumental in the BDFSB’s successfull bid to push Santa aside for the current Coke promos. Though they are currently paid about 10 percent more than Santa did in previous years, many feel that St. Nick “threw” those negotiations. Could this be tied to Mrs. Santa being missing for 4 months? It wouldn’t be the first time kidnapping came into play in the hemispheric labor wars. Me thinks you’d better get used to seeing penguins at Christmas time. [/QUOTE] LOVE the Tennessee Tuxedo reference! Duh…gee, Tennessee! I wonder when the PBFPFNP (Polar Bears for a Penguin-Free North Pole) will get in on the act and start protesting. ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/17 "2007-12-19T16:35:19Z")
Maybe it’s preparation for a South Pole change of venue. When the polar cap melts in the next few years, Santa will need to relocate. We are now accustomed to Santa and pengies so there will be no problem. Armored polar bears will become necessary as everyone begins to shoot them for savaging the dear sweet pengies. Everything is coming together nicely. ---
**Author:** ![mikemo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/41988e/32.png) [@mikemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikemo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/18 "2007-12-19T16:43:23Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Newt my ass. It was an [anole.](http://www.pbase.com/joelmcneal/image/82856560) [/QUOTE] I think it would be difficult for **What Exit?** to get better from that! ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/19 "2007-12-19T16:49:14Z")
Polar bears are the natural enemy of penguins. [cite](http://www.jur-linux.org/linux/pics/Penguin%20polar%20bear%20symbols.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566/20 "2007-12-19T16:55:13Z")
[QUOTE=ChiefScott] Chilly Willy is a mob boss trying to get a piece of the Santa’s toy-building action. He’s joined forces with Union President Tennessee Tuxedo, BDFSB (Brotherhood of Dichromatic Flightless Sea Birds) in trying to elbow the UEM (United Elf Manufacturers)out of its toybuilding gig. Most haven’t realized it yet, but Willy was instrumental in the BDFSB’s successfull bid to push Santa aside for the current Coke promos. Though they are currently paid about 10 percent more than Santa did in previous years, many feel that St. Nick “threw” those negotiations. Could this be tied to Mrs. Santa being missing for 4 months? It wouldn’t be the first time kidnapping came into play in the hemispheric labor wars. Me thinks you’d better get used to seeing penguins at Christmas time. [/QUOTE] Tennessee Tuxedo was actually from the South Pole along with his buddy the Walrus. Of course there are no Walruses in Antartica, so apparently the cartoon misplacement of Polar Creatures is Rampant. I also seem to recall a Penguin named Sneezy that was seen hanging out with a polar bear in some Hanna Barbera toon. Anyone else remember this little guy? **carnivorousplant** : I am sure it was a newt, and whoever the victim of your other attack was, I don’t think that Anole was getting any better. I think it was a dead Anole. (No jokes about Fjords now) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penguins-and-christmas/430566.md?page=2)