Thirteen facts about Thanksgiving and Turkeys!!
In no particular order…
- The date of the First Thanksgiving is not precisely known though it occured between September 21 and November 9, 1621.
- The Plymouth Pilgrims dined with the Wampanoag Indians for the First Thanksgiving.
- The First Thanksgiving lasted for three days. (Good thing today’s celebrations don’t last that long, no one would be able to go shopping!)
- According to Edward Winslow, a participant in the First Thanksgiving, the feast bconsisted of:
- Corn
- Barley
- Fowl including Wild Turkeys and Waterfowl
- Venison
- 52 Pilgrims attended the ‘First Thanksgiving’ in 1621
- Approximately 50 Native Americans attended the ‘First Thanksgiving’ (combined thats a total of 100 people. Thank goodness I only have to cook for 15!)
- This ‘First Thanksgiving’ was actually a secular event that was not repeated. A Calvinist Thanksgiving actually did occur in 1623 and did not involve sharing food with the Native Americans.
- The first National celebration of Thanksgiving was declared in 1777 by the Continental Congress. However, this was not an annual event.
- Each year the President declares a day of National Thanksgiving.
- Turkeys have heart attacks. When the Air Force was conducting test runs and breaking the sound barrier, fields of turkeys would drop dead.
- Turkeys can drown if they look up when it is raining. (I have an uncle like this as well)
- A spooked turkey can run at speeds up to 20 miles per hour. They can also burst into flight approaching speeds between 50-55 mph in a matter of seconds. (My car is barely faster than a speeding turkey!)
- Benjamin Franklin wanted the national bird to be a turkey.
Happy thanksgiving!!
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mcangeli
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November 22nd, 2007 at 1:23 am
Man…turkeys live very unpredictable lives!
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November 23rd, 2007 at 1:14 am
That was a fascinating set of facts. I feel bad for the poor turkeys though!
I love Ben Franklin, but perhaps it’s just as well that they didn’t take his suggestion on this score.
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November 23rd, 2007 at 4:05 am
That’s amazing about turkeys drowning in the rain. Who’d a thought it?
November 26th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Interesting list! I knew some of them. LOL at #3… I was actually thinking it’s good it doesn’t last that long or the family members might end up wringing each other’s necks. LOL. In some families it’s hard enough for everyone to get along for a few hours. (Thank goodness not my family - but my husband’s wouldn’t make it past day 2. LOL.)
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November 26th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
I knew most of them, but which uncle would drown if he looked up when it was raining?
November 26th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
I was thinking of Uncle Bill (aunt alice’s uncle bill…)
November 28th, 2007 at 12:20 am
I am rather glad that Benjamin Franklin did not get his wish and the turkey declared our national bird. That would have been…..*shudders*
Another fact that they fail to inform the populace, or they politely sweep it under the rock. Despite how “grateful” the pilgrims were to the Indians, they introduced them to various diseases, tried to convert them to their religion, and when that failed, attempted to eradicate them after deeming them too stupid to understand religion.
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