Turkey Facts You Probably Didn’t Know
The woman behind “Mary Had a Little Lamb” is also responsible for Thanksgiving’s recognition as a national holiday.
In 1863, writer Sarah Josepha Hale convinced President Abraham Lincoln to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday. She wrote countless articles and letters to persuade the president — and the rest is history!
There are four places in the United States named Turkey. Louisiana’s Turkey Creek is the most populated with 435 residents. There’s also Turkey, Texas; Turkey, North Carolina; and Turkey Creek, Arizona. Also, two townships in Pennsylvania: Upper Turkeyfoot and Lower Turkeyfoot!
Black Friday is the busiest day of the year for plumbers, according to Roto-Rooter, the nation’s largest plumbing service. Thanksgiving guests who “overwhelm the system” are accredited for this
Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird, not the eagle.
Americans eat 46 million turkeys each Thanksgiving.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s first meal in space after walking on the moon was foil packets with roasted turkey.
The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was in 1924 to celebrate their status as “world’s largest store.” People today would be familiar with most of the first parade’s contents; there were floats featuring nursery rhyme characters and Santa Claus in his sleigh. What might be out of place today were the animals—bears, elephants, camels, and monkeys loaned from the Central Park Zoo. Giant balloons debuted a few years later, in 1927, with Felix the Cat among the very first.
Minnesota produces more turkeys than any other state in the U.S., raising close to 46 million in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Have turkey questions? Call the hotline
The Turkey Talk-Line hotline from Butterball answers all turkey questions each November and December. It began in 1981 with six home economists, who answered 11,000 calls about how to cook a turkey. Since then, the hotline has grown to answer 100,000 calls each season, and include Spanish-speakers, the first male Turkey Talk-Line expert, and email, texting, live chat, and social media platforms. Get more information and learn how to get in touch here.
Americans really, really like turkey
The National Turkey Foundation estimates 88 percent of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving, and about 46 million turkeys were consumed in 2016. Turkey has become a bigger part of the American diet recently, with consumption nearly doubling over the past 25 years.
Gobble, gobble
Male turkeys, also called toms, are the only ones that can gobble. The females, or hens, make clucking or clicking
On the road again
The American Automobile Association (AAA) expects that Thanksgiving 2016 travel will be at its highest since 2007, with 48.7 million Americans projected to trek 50 miles or more. This is an increase of about a million people from 2015. The majority of travelers (around 89 percent) will drive.
The Presidential pardon
The first official presidential pardon of a turkey occurred much more recently than most might think: President George H.W. Bush did it in 1989, and it’s since become an annual tradition. Stories of unofficial pardons, however, go further back – perhaps even to President Lincoln’s days, when he supposedly pardoned a turkey after an impassioned plea from his son Tad for the bird’s right to live.
Compiled by Lindsay Kirkland
