Turkey Time in Tampa, Florida
Ah, Thanksgiving. Turkey Day! That favorite of American holidays is known for stuffing your face with stuffing and turkey and spending quality time with friends and family while being thankful for the things we have in life.
Thanksgiving is a holiday that is not without controversy behind its history or its intended significance. But we’re not here to teach history, so let’s not talk about that. Instead, we will do what we do best with our blog posts: make it fun!
Here are some fun facts about Thanksgiving you may not know about:
Give Thanks to Lincoln
President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863 when he proclaimed the last Thursday of every November as a “day of thanksgiving”. Thank you Abe!
Third Thursday Thanksgiving
In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving to the 3rd Thursday of November during the Depression to give merchants more time to sell Christmas merchandise. And in 1941, Congress changed it back to the last Thursday of November. FDR must’ve had a premonition about how early merchants are willing to sell Christmas merchandise!
Canadiansgiving
Canadians also celebrate Thanksgiving as a national holiday. But they do it every year on the second Monday of October. Canadians call the United States version of turkey day “Yanksgiving” to distinguish our holiday from theirs. Those cooky Canucks!
Turkey Television
Swanson foods apparently miscalculated how many turkeys it would sell in 1953. The company had such a massive surplus of turkey that some marketing genius decided to package it in aluminum and sell it with sides. And so the TV dinner was born!
Plumber Bummer
According to plumbing giant Roto-Rooter, Black Friday, A.K.A. “the day after Thanksgiving,” is the busiest day for plumbers. … Um, we’ll resist the temptation to include some toilet humor here, so imagine why that is. Ewwww.
Turkey, Europe
Those beautiful birds we like to gobble up for Thanksgiving got their names from the English because guinea fowls (birds native of Africa) were imported to Europe by Turkish merchants. So they started calling them turkeys. Who would’ve thought that turkeys aren’t actually from Turkey?
Turkey, USA
Four major places in the USA are named after Turkey: Turkey Creek, Louisiana; Turkey, Texas; Turkey, North Carolina; and Turkey Creek, Arizona. There are probably more than four.
Gobble, Baby Gobble Baby
While it’s popular to say “gobble gobble” as a Thanksgiving catchphrase, only male turkeys actually gobble. Female turkeys don’t gobble but cackle instead. Somehow “cackle cackle” just doesn’t have the same ring.
First Feast
When the first Thanksgiving actually took place is debatable. But the history books teach us that the traditional Thanksgiving as we know it first happened during the three-day pilgrim celebration in 1621 at Plymouth Colony, in present-day Massachusetts. First come, first serve?
Fowl Forgiveness
Since 1947, a pre-Thanksgiving tradition is for the United States President to pardon a turkey during a White House ceremony known as the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation. During the ceremony, the President is presented with one live turkey, which he “pardons” from being slaughtered. After being pardoned, the turkey gets to live out its days on a farm. Lucky bastard! … Oops, pardon my French hen.
Travel for Turkey
Thanksgiving Day is the busiest travel day of the year. The American Automobile Association (AAA) has estimated that over 42 million Americans travel 50 miles or more by car over the holiday weekend. Another 4 million people travel by air to visit their loved ones for a holiday. So there’s really nothing better than a family meal.
Tons of Turkey
According to the National Turkey Federation, nearly 88% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving. And around 212 million turkeys are consumed each year. Turkeys are said to have been the most plentiful meat at the time of the first Thanksgiving in 1621. This is probably why it has become the traditional main course for the holiday. … Wait, wait, there’s actually a National Turkey Federation?
The Wishbone Tradition
The wishbone tradition consists of two people tugging on either end of the bone trying to win the larger piece. And the person who gets the larger piece gets to make a wish. It’s a good luck tradition that is said to date back to the Etruscans of 322 B.C. Hang up the phone and break a wishbone.
Thankspigskin
Football is a significant part of the United States Thanksgiving celebration. And it has become synonymous with Thanksgiving, dating back to the first college football game between Yale and Princeton held on Thanksgiving Day in 1876. So if the pigskin is not your thing, the best part of the turkey is the skin.
Turkey Trot
If you’re going to attempt to hunt down the Thanksgiving turkey yourself, make sure it doesn’t get angry! Wild turkeys can run up to 20 miles per hour when scared! So if you scare a turkey into running that fast, make sure it doesn’t get angry too and start chasing you!
Turkey-Itis
Turkey has L-tryptophan, known to cause drowsiness, which may contribute to why we feel so sleepy after eating it. But the act of overeating is known to deplete your energy because your body needs the energy to digest all of that food. Nappy Thanksgiving!
Super “Eat” and Air would like to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving. And remember if you have an air conditioning emergency on Thanksgiving Day or Black Friday, don’t let it spoil your dinner. Give us a call, and we’ll be there!
