Here’s to some fun family/friends/troop or other gathering conversation starters of some “Turkey Trivia or Information” before you watch all those football games.

• TV dinners have Thanksgiving to thank. In 1953, someone at Swanson misjudged the number of frozen turkeys it would sell that Thanksgiving — by 26 TONS!  
• Placed named Turkey: Louisiana’s Turkey Creek; Turkey, Texas; Turkey, North Carolina; and Turkey Creek, Arizona. Then two townships in Pennsylvania: the creatively named Upper Turkeyfoot and Lower Turkeyfoot!
• When Abe Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, it was thanks to the tireless efforts of a magazine editor named Sarah Josepha Hale.
• Females, called hens, cackle ONLY Male Turkeys Gobble
• Thanksgiving is not just an American holiday but Celebrated by Canadians in October
• The first day of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving come together today (2013) for the first time since 1888
• A turkey less than 12-weeks-old is called Fryer roaster
• Why is it called a turkey? Back in the day, the Europeans took a liking to the guinea fowls imported to the continent. Since the birds were imported by Turkish merchants, Later, when the Spaniards came to America, they found a bird that tasted like those guinea fowls.
• The New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers baked the Guinness World Record pumpkin pie back in 2010, weighing 3,699 pounds and sitting 20 feet in diameter. The pie was created with 187 cans of pumpkin, 233 dozen eggs, 109 gallons of evaporated milk, 525 pounds of sugar, 7 pounds of salt, 14.5 pounds of cinnamon and 3 pounds of pumpkin pie spice
• Greek Goddess of Corn is Demeter
• First department store to hold Thanksgiving parade was Gimbel’s
• Famous rock credited to where the pilgrims first landed was Plymouth Rock
• The Indians were invited to the Thanksgiving feast were of the Wampanoag Tribe and their chief was Massasoit
• What was the name of the ship the pilgrims came over on – Mayflower
• Who was the captain of the Mayflower – Christopher Jones
• Franklin D Roosevelt was the first President to establish Thanksgiving as a legal holiday and to hold it on the Fourth Thursday of November Annually.
• The term Cornucopia means – Horn of Plenty
• What was the original name for the Pilgrims – Puritans
• What part of the Turkey is saved and snapped for good luck – Wishbone
• The word Turkey is said to come from what Hebrew word “Tukki” which means Pheasant Bird
• Which President moved Thanksgiving up one week to help with the Christmas economy – Franklin D Roosevelt
• Captain John Smith founded what Colony in Virginia – Jamestown
• What poet wrote: The Courtship of Miles Standish – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• The Pilgrims took beer with them on their voyage – TRUE
• Plymouth Massachusetts celebrates: Forefathers Day every year on December 11^th
• The Real Plymouth Rock is cracked – TRUE
• Indian corn is for decorating purposes or cooking – Decorating only
• In what year did the First Macys Day Parade take place – 1924
• Thanksgiving Day is not a religious holiday it is for Harvest Celebration
• Why is the male turkey called: Tom Turkey is named after Thomas Jefferson
• After the First Thanksgiving in 1621 only FIVE women survived
• The First Thanksgiving in 1621 celebration lasted THREE Days
• The Kiddie Table for children only to eat at was started in the 19^th Century as a new part of Thanksgiving Celebrations.
• June 20, 1998 in Bellevue Ohio, Dale Gasteier built a 52 foot Free Standing Star to celebrate the American Thanksgiving Holiday.
• President Harry Truman started the Annual President US Pardon of a Turkey where the Lucky Turkey goes to a Public Farm called Frying Pan Park in Herndon VA.
• Cranberries must bounce at least Four Inches before being harvested and sold to make sure they are ripe enough.
• The Day after Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year
• Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldren were the first Astronauts to enjoy a turkey dinner with all the trimmings while on the Moon.
• Felix the Cat was the first balloon in the 1927 Macys Day Thanksgiving Day Parade
• True that Turkeys can drown if the look up at Rain
• October 1777 George Washington declared: All Colony Thanksgiving” due to their Victory over Saratoga.
• Pilgrims Never worn the funny hats or buckles on their shoes we show in photos
• Longest balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is 100 ft long Superman
• In 1943 Norman Rockwell created his famous Freedom Fron Want illustratin in the Saturday Evening Post
• In the early 1600 the Pilgrims did not have Forks to eat with
• How many pilgrims were on the Mayflower – 102
• How long was the voyage from England to the New World – 66 Days
• The Pilgrims all dressed Very Colorful
• The original 102 pilgrims at the First Thanksgiving only had 50 Percent Survive the next year.
• The Mayflower did NOT dock at Plymouth Rock but this was the first rock they stepped onto
• Codfish was one of the Original foods that the pilgrims at back in 1600s
• Both Blueberries and Concord Grapes are fruits native to North America
• Cranberries can be harvested either wet or dry – TRUE
• The Mayflower was built as a Merchant Ship to Carry Wine
• At the First Thanksgiving there were more Indians than pilgrims.
• Some of the travelers on the Mayflower came over to get Furs and Lumber to send back to England
• Plymouth Rock today is as big as the Size of A Car Engine as it has been broken Three Times
• The original approved table manners for the First Thanksgiving was: Eat with your hands; Spit on the floor; and Thrown bones into the earth
• Back in the early Thanksgiving they also enjoyed sporting events after eating but they did Knife Throwing
• Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a National Holiday but also allowed Whenever the Governor of that State said so
• The Boylston Street Fire Station in Boston that Every year hosts Free Thanksgiving meals to the needy
• 1879 to 1883 Governor Roberts of Texas refused to issue a Thanksgiving Proclamation because he felt it was a Yankee tradition
• First Thanksgiving football game was started n 1934 by Detroit Lions
• Charity during Thanksgiving has been around since the Colonial gave to the poor either Firewood; Turkeys or whatever they could share
• By the end of the 19^th Century Victorians expressed their wealth by presenting their meal courses in FRENCH.
• The Ragamuffin Parade is said to be the Origin of the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade
• The Pilgrims went to church Sundays and Thursdays so they wanted to use the mid prayer day as a day of Thanksgiving that is why we observe the Holiday on Thursdays.
• In 1621 which of the following foods that we eat did they NOT serve – Pumpkin Pie
• By 1690 what became the priority of Thanksgiving – Food
• In 1705 a ship in Colchester, Conn port was stuck frozen in the harbor so they had to delay Thanksgiving for one week the ship Held MOLASSES to be taken to the stores
• Early 1602 the Pilgrims celebrated: Day of Humiliation for their day of Prayer and Fasting
• In 2005 President Bush pardoned Two Turkeys named Marshmallow and Yam also they get Special Pardon and Were Grand Marshalls of the 2005 Disneyland Thanksgiving Day Parade
• The turkey is considered a sacrificial bird in Mexico
• North Carolina produces the Most Turkeys
• Turkeys can run 75 Miles Per Hour
• Wild Turkeys can Fly 55 Miles Per Hour
• Turkey is also consumed at Christmas with 50 Percent of US recognizing this
• Turkey is better for you as it is Lower in Cholesterol than any other type meat
• Baby Turkeys are called POULTS
• Old wives tale is that Pumpkin Pie is a cure for Freckles
• Turkeys lay Brown eggs always
• Blue Slate Turkeys are the most endangered of Turkeys and CANNOT be eaten
• Domestic Turkeys weigh more than wild turkeys
• When Male Turkeys puff up their feathers, strut and make the gobble sound they are trying to attract the female hen for mating
• A pilgrim is defined as Traveler; Wayfarer; or Journeyman
• The Snood of a Turkey turns bright red when he is upset or during courtship
• Wisconsin produces the most Cranberries
• Full Grown Turkey has Approximately 3500 Feathers
• The dangling skin under a Turkeys neck is called Wattle
• Unhappy Cranberries are called Blueberries (hahahah)

Until next time keep it Real … REAL FUN that is and Happy Thanksgiving to you ALL!  Brenda 🙂