Due to a misprint in a newspaper, tracking Santa’s journey is now made possible by NORAD. According to the Dailymail.com website in 1955, Col. Harry Shoup was operating the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which was designed to track aerial and space threats to the continent. While on duty, Shoup received a call from a little boy who had apparently dialed the wrong number in an attempt to speak with Santa.

Since the telephone number was meant to be used during an incidence of impending attack by the Soviet Union, Shoup questioned the young man and even caused him to cry. Shoup’s daughter told the New York Post of this call, her father had received and added that after he realized what had happened and why the boy called, her father began to pose as one of Santa’s elves, and assured the inquisitive child that Kris Kringle was on his way from the North Pole. Shoup also instructed his men that if any more calls came in from children, they were to speak to the children about Santa’s journey, the website stated.

The misprint that started the confusion was a Sears Roebuck ad for readers in Colorado Springs, which is near NORAD’s headquaters at Ent Air Force Base, stated the website.

“It told children to give Santa Claus a call ‘any time day or night’ on his private phone, but accidentally gave the number ME-2-6681, which connected to the ‘hotline’ answered by Shoup.”

This year, NORAD will celebrate 60 years of offering believers a way to track Santa’s journey. By using satellites and Santa Cams placed around the world, NORAD has the ability to broadcast footage of the Jolly Old Elf in different locales. You can follow his journey on noradsanta.org, and there is also a NORAD Tracks Santa App, which is the official mobile app of the NORAD Tracks Santa program.

The App allows one to watch the day’s countdown to Santa’s flight, follow Santa’s progress on Dec. 24, play “Thin Ice” to help Santa’s elves deliver presents, and learn about NORAD and its mission. The countdown in the app is not a countdown to Dec. 25, it is a countdown to when the app begins tracking Santa’s flight.