Santa’s cycle sleigh on its way

Not quite patentable

Photo: Patentstyret / public domain
A sketch of the cycle sleigh, Norwegian patent application of May 5, 1898.

On May 5, 1898, Patentstyret (the Patent Office) in Oslo received an application for a patent on a Sykkelkjelke (cycle sleigh). The application was granted, and patent number 6736 was issued. But there is no record of the cycle sleigh having been manufactured. It became one of many inventions that simply faded into oblivion.

But on Dec. 7, 2018, A-Magasinet, the Aftenposten newspaper’s weekly magazine supplement, resurrected the concept of the cycle sleigh as a conveyance for Santa Claus on his annual round of gift distribution.

An interesting concept in the age of the climate crisis?

This article originally appeared in the Dec. 11, 2020, issue of The Norwegian American.