Do You Know the Real Reason Yukon Cornelius Licks His Pickax in “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”?

In "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", Yukon Cornelius is constantly licking his pickax after he pulls it out of the ground. Most of us have always assumed he's looking for his favorite thing, silver and gold.

Well, it turns out we've been deceived for years. Yukon Cornelius is actually looking for peppermint.

There's a scene toward the end of "Rudolph" where Yukon pulls his ax out of the ground, licks it, and loses his mind, shouting, "Peppermint! What I've been searching for all my life! I've struck it rich. I've got me a peppermint mine! Wahoooo!"

This scene hasn't been shown on TV since 1964, which is why this will come as news to a lot of people. But it's been included on home video releases.

Here's the scene: