George Washington first established the National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln made a Thanksgiving proclamation that made the last Thursday in November a national holiday.
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More beer than water was loaded onto the Mayflower for the voyage to the New World.
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There were 104 pilgrims on the Mayflower: 51 men, 22 boys, 20 women and 11 girls.
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The Native Americans that helped the pilgrims were from the Wampanoag tribe.
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Fresh cranberries are firm and they bounce if you drop them.
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True or false: The day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year. See answer at end.
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In 1782, the bald eagle was officially declared the national emblem of the United States. Benjamin Franklin thought the eagle was a bird of bad moral character. He wanted the wild turkey, a "bird of courage,” to be the national bird.
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It takes up to five gallons of hot oil to deep-fry a turkey. Every Thanksgiving, hospital emergency rooms treat people for oil burns.
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It is not recommended to thaw a turkey at room temperature, as it may cause bacterial growth. It is best to thaw a turkey in the refrigerator. Allow one day of thawing for every four pounds of turkey.
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Giblets are the heart and liver of poultry. Gizzards are stomachs.
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In bowling, three strikes in a row is called a turkey.
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The average weight of store bought frozen turkeys is 15 pounds.
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Edward Asselbergs (died 1996), of Canada, invented instant mashed potatoes in 1962.
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Yukon gold, peruvian blue, superior, kennebec and katahdin are all types of potatoes.
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This year is the 82nd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Over 3.5 million people will line the streets of New York City to watch the parade in person. Fifty million people will watch it on television.
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The first large balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was Felix the Cat in 1927.
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From 1929 to 1933, the large balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade were released after the parade. The balloons had a return address and a prize offer attached to them. The lucky person who found the balloon would get the prize.
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During the years of World War II, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was cancelled. The rubber that would have been used for the balloons was donated to the war effort. The parade resumed in 1945.
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The "New York Herald” declared that Thanksgiving had become the official holiday for watching football. That was way back in 1893.
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The National Football League had its first Thanksgiving Day game in 1934. The Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions 19 to16.
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The Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions football teams play on Thanksgiving Day every year.
Answer: False. The day after Thanksgiving has a high number of shoppers, but not the highest sales. The two biggest sales days of the year are the last Saturday before Christmas and Dec. 23.
Know It All is by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend and Wednesday editions of the Daily Journal. Questions? Comments?
E-mail knowitall@smdailyjournal.com or call 344-5200 x114.
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