"Great bouncing icebergs!"

On Dec. 6, 1964, television audiences watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer for the first time. Fifty years later, the TV special continues to be a Christmas tradition as beloved as caroling and putting out cookies for Santa.

Even if you curl up with hot cocoa and candy canes every December to watch Rudolph, Sam the Snowman and Yukon Cornelius, you might not know everything about the television classic. We talked to CBS and Rankin/Bass historian Rick Goldschmidt to uncover 12 little-known facts.

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer airs Dec. 9 at 8:00 p.m. ET on CBS.

1. The puppets were not meant to last forever.

Despite taking great care not to soil the puppets — only the animator and puppet maker were allowed to touch them in the studio, and they wore gloves when working on them — the figures were sprayed with magnetic flock to diffuse reflective light from the cameras. The spray contained acidity which contributed to the puppets’ deterioration over time. Rankin/Bass co-founder Jules Bass kept one of the Rudolph puppets on his desk, even though wires were coming out of its legs for the lightbulb nose.

2. Rudolph was a tiny 4-inches tall

Rudolph measured 4-inches high and Santa stood 8-inches. And though he appears relatively large on screen, the Bumble figurine stood 14-inches tall.

3. The special took about 18 months and 22 room-size sets to complete.

The TV specials were created in Japan by MOM Production Studios, led by Tadahito “Tad” Mochinaga, a pioneer in Japanese stop-motion animation.

4. Animators spent two days observing deer to create Rudolph.

Mochinaga, Rankin/Bass’s chief animator, and his assistant Hiroshi Tabata spent two days at Nara National Park studying thousands of wild deer to observe the movement for their animation and to inspire their image of Rudolph and his setting.

5. The narration originally had a Brooklyn accent

Before Burl Ives was tapped to narrate, Larry Mann (the voice of Yukon Cornelius) performed the narration. Mann's version has never been heard publicly, but those who have listened to the recordings say Mann put on a Brooklyn-like accent — not quite Ives' gentle delivery.

6. More than 200 puppets were carved for the production of Rudolph.

Ichiro Komuro, the puppet maker for the film, says that each character’s puppet was re-carved by hand for various movements and expressions, rather than using plaster and a mold, because it wouldn’t have been exact, “and the plaster head is very heavy for animation.”

7. All of the characters were built with joints

The inclusion of joints allowed any part of puppets' bodies could be moved, including their eyes, ears and mouth.

8. It’s Hermey, not Herbie.

Hermey and Rudolph. Photo: Â© Classic Media Image: Classic Media

Hermey, the elf who wants to be a dentist, has left fans in question over his real name. In 1998, some merchandise marketed the elf with the name Herbie instead. Rankin Bass has received emails about it since they first went online in 1999, and Hermey has since lived a life of frustration regarding his name that most of us only experience from Starbucks baristas.

9. It took 24 frames to create one second of filmed animation.

10. “Silver and Gold” was originally sung by Yukon Cornelius

In a version never aired, Yukon Cornelius (Larry Mann) sings “Silver and Gold.” Before the song was reassigned to Burl Ives, it was recorded 28 times in Cornelius' voice, including multiple takes that end with comic sobs.

11. The Misfit doll was depressed.

For decades, fans have focused attention on the little doll on Misfit Island because there was nothing visibly wrong with her. Though some wondered if it was her lack of a real nose, Arthur Rankin has said that she was depressed because her owner didn’t want her anymore and she felt unlovable.

12. Fans brought The Misfits back to the special.

In the original special that aired in 1964, Rudolph, Hermey and Yukon Cornelius promise to return to visit Misfit Island, then never do so. This set fans into such a fuss that Rankin/Bass responded to their angry letters by changing the script. In 1965, the special included a short scene in which Santa and the reindeer deliver the Misfits to new homes.