No sooner had we commented on the somewhat po-faced responses to the medical oddities in the annual Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal, than events took an even odder turn.
An unfortunate Australian doctor called Nathan Grills was forced to defend himself against the might of the world's media for criticising Santa Claus for being too fat. We understand that editorials were written in newspapers around the world ; some of the more savage picked on the Australians for not having a "proper Christmas" - as their Christmas is celebrated at the blazing height of summer.
Speaking to the Australian Associated Press Dr Grills rushed out an explanation.
"Most of my 'Santa - A public health pariah?' article was meant to be tongue-in-cheek... It's a Christmas spoof," he explained, using a word of one syllable.
He went on: "I hoped to spread a bit of Christmas cheer, but with a tinge of seriousness to provoke a bit of healthy Christmas dinner table conversation."
Finally he stated: "To clarify, I am not a Santa researcher. The article was written in my spare time for a bit of comic relief."
This was our original report on Dr Grill's comments. But, note, we also managed to find some experts in Sweden who shared Dr Grills' purported concerns about Santa's health; and not only does Sweden still have a proper winter, it also contains Lapland, which claims to be the home of Santa, so they should know what they are talking about.
May we wish all our readers a very merry, happy and joyful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
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