Just in case you wanted to know, here’s some Thanksgiving trivia for you to chew on as you enjoy the holiday with family and friends.
• The National Turkey Federation says that 87 percent of Americans eat turkey at Thanksgiving whether it’s coffee rubbed turkey from Hawaii, barbecued turkey, cajun fried turkey or – say it isn’t so – in a television frozen dinner.
• President Truman started the tradition of granting a presidential pardon to one turkey each year. In 2009 President Obama spared “Courage” along with an alternate called “Carolina.” Sorry, this year’s turkey pardon was granted after this week’s papers went to press.
• Each year, Cincinnati prepares for Thanksgiving with its traditional Turkey Bowl, an outdoors event. Frozen turkeys are used in place of bowling balls. The turkeys are discarded from stores and were not intended for consumption.
• Johnny Carson said it: “Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often.”
• Football on Thanksgiving was played before the formation of the National Football League. Records of the game being played on Thanksgiving go back to as early as 1902. The first owner of the Lions, according to Wikipedia, started the tradition of Thanksgiving Day football as a way to get people to Lions football games. The Lions have played on Thanksgiving more than any other teams.
• Popeye in the 1958 Macy’s Day Parade was so heavy that the balloon handlers lost control. The balloon went off course and dumped water from Popeye’s hat onto spectators. The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in 1924 didn’t have balloons; live animals were borrowed from the Central Park Zoo.
• Though often referred to as the busiest shopping day of the year, Black Friday in terms of sales volume has been surpassed by other days. The busiest retail shopping day of the year in the United States usually has been the Saturday before Christmas.
• Ever tried turducken? It is a de-boned turkey, a fully hand de-boned duck, and a fully hand de-boned chicken, all rolled into one and stuffed with lots of delicious stuffing. Sorry, we don’t have the recipe.
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.
Editorial – A time for … turkey trivia : Viewpoints – Tampa Bay Newspapers
