When you were younger what was your favorite Christmas show to watch? Mine was Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

[Wiz Imp]

66. It's funny, I only found out in recent years why Yukon Cornelius does that.

From wikipedia:

The original airing in 1964 did not include Santa traveling to the Island of Misfit Toys, but included a scene near the end of the special in which Yukon Cornelius discovers a peppermint mine near Santa's workshop. He can be seen throughout the special tossing his pickax into the air, sniffing, then licking the end that contacts the snow or ice. Deletion of the peppermint segment in 1965, to make room for Santa traveling to the Island of Misfit Toys, leaves the audience to assume that Cornelius was attempting to find either silver or gold by taste alone.

The 1965 broadcast also included a new duet between Rudolph and Hermey called "Fame and Fortune", which replaced a scene in which the same characters sang "We're a Couple of Misfits". Viewers of the 1964 special complained that Santa was not shown fulfilling his promise to the Misfit Toys to include them in his annual toy delivery. In reaction, a new scene for subsequent rebroadcasts was produced with Santa making his first stop at the Island to pick up the toys. This is the ending that has been shown on all telecasts and video releases ever since.

Also wikipedia says NBC will broadcast the special again on December 6, 2024 in a 75-minute telecast. The network will continue its policy of blocking all streaming of the special for 2024, while allowing pay-per-view option.