Trivial Turkey Tidbits

Turkey Trivia According to the National Turkey Federation, nearly eighty-eight percent of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving day. That translates to about 46 million turkeys total, not to mention that another 22 million will be eaten at Christmas.

Here is some additional turkey trivia from the federation's website:

Ben Franklin was disappointed when the bald eagle was chosen as the official bird of the United States - he had proposed the turkey!

Both Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California have selected the "National Thanksgiving Turkey" as the Grand Marshall in their Thanksgiving Day Parades for the past four years. (Mickey was apparently otherwise engaged.)

Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving an official U.S. holiday in 1863.

Minnesota leads the nation in turkey production, closely followed by North Carolina.

If you think that your Thanksgiving turkey is to blame for that after-dinner drowsiness, guess again. Studies suggest that all those carb-heavy sides are really the cause of that sluggish feeling.

Turkey has been served on the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin dined on foil packets of turkey and all the trimmings for their first meal on the moon.

An average adult turkey has approximately 3500 feathers, most of which are composted or disposed of, but some are used for other purposes such as quill pens or for costumes. Rumor has it that Sesame Street's famous Big Bird is actually a person in a costume made of turkey feathers. Who knew?

Domesticated turkeys are not able to fly, but wild turkeys can fly for short distances at speeds up to 55 miles per hour. They can also run 20 miles per hour.

Only tom turkeys can gobble ~ hens make a clicking sound.

And finally ~ the fleshy outgrowth you see hanging from a turkey's beak is called a "snood."