Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Turkey Day. Thanksgiving Day. A day where you eat too much and watch plenty of football.
However your Thanksgiving looks, here are some interesting facts about this oh-so-American holiday:
- A 15 pound turkey usually has about 70 percent white meat and 30 percent dark meat.
- 1796 was the first year a pumpkin pie recipe appeared. It was featured in American Cookery by Amelia Simmons and was called ‘Pompkin Pudding.’
- The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a staple — it first started in the 1920’s.
- Believe it or not…turkey has more protein than chicken or beef.
- An estimated 254 million turkeys were raised for slaughter in the U.S. during 2012 – US Department of Agriculture
- Food that was thought to have been present at the first Thanksgiving feast: Lobster, rabbit, chicken, fish, squashes, beans, chestnuts, hickory nuts, onions, leeks, dried fruits, maple syrup and honey, radishes, cabbage, carrots, eggs, and goat cheese.
- This year, the beginning of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving falls on the very same day.
- At one point in American history, the turkey and bald eagle were considered to serve as the national symbol of America. You can guess which one won…
- Age is a determining factor in taste. Old, large males are preferable to young toms (males) as tom meat is stringy. The opposite is true for females: old hens are tougher birds.
- Wild turkeys can run some 10 to 20 miles (16 to 32 kilometers) an hour and fly in bursts at 55 miles (89 kilometers) an hour.
Sources: WHVS.com, Chicago Now, Infoplease.com, National Geographic
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