Thanksgiving Facts

I thought it would be a good idea to put up some facts about Thanksgiving. I'm sure like most of us, we have forgotten about where Thanksgiving came from.

• The first US Thanksgiving was held between 21 September and 11 November 1621 in Massachusetts by 50 Plymouth Pilgrims and their 90 Wampanoag neighbours. After that, Thanksgiving was held fairly randomly.
• Thanksgiving remained a custom unsanctified by law until President Roosevelt signed a bill on 26 November 1941 that established the fourth Thursday in November as the national Thanksgiving public holiday.
• Turkey is the traditional dish for the Thanksgiving feast. In the US, about 280 million turkeys are sold for the Thanksgiving celebrations. There is no official reason or declaration for the use of turkey. They just happened to be the most plentiful meat available at the time of the first Thanksgiving in 1621, starting the tradition.
• 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.
• 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.

And now you know a little bit more about the holiday, and the turkey that we eat.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

TO ALL WHO READ THIS!