
Your Family
Turkey Trivia
Fun Facts About America's Favorite Bird
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A long-time centerpiece of American holiday feasts, the turkey has a
colorful and delicious history. Here are some intriguing facts about our
nation's favorite bird, provided by Woodbridge Vintage Barrel Chips that
you probably didn't know:
- Turkeys originated in North and Central America, and evidence indicates
that they have been around for over 10 million years.
- Until 1863, Thanksgiving Day had not been celebrated annually since the
first feast in 1621. This changed in 1863 when Sarah Josepha Hale encouraged
Abraham Lincoln to set aside the last Thursday in November "as a day for
national thanksgiving and prayer."
- In Mexico, the turkey was considered a sacrificial bird.
- Domesticated turkeys (farm raised) cannot fly. Wild turkeys can fly for
short distances at up to 55 miles per hour. Wild turkeys are also fast on the
ground, running at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour.
- Only male turkeys (toms) gobble. Females (hens) make a clicking noise. The
gobble is a seasonal call during the spring and fall. Hens are attracted for
mating when a tom gobbles. Wild toms love to gobble when they hear loud sounds
or settle in for the night.
- The heaviest turkey ever raised weighed in at 86 pounds -- about the size
of a large German Shepherd -- and was grown in England, according to Dr. Sarah
Birkhold, poultry specialist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
- Mature turkeys have 3,500 or so feathers. The Apache Indians considered the
turkey timid and wouldn't eat it or use its feathers on their arrows.
- More than 45 million turkeys are cooked and 525 million pounds of turkey
are eaten during Thanksgiving.
- Ninety percent of American homes eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Fifty
percent eat turkey on Christmas.
- North Carolina produces 61 million turkeys annually, more than any other
state. Minnesota and Arkansas are number two and three.
- Benjamin Franklin, the great American statesman, thought the turkey was so
American it should have been chosen as our national symbol rather than the
eagle.
- The fleshy growth from the base of the beak, which is very long on male
turkeys and hangs down over the beak, is called the snood. (ARA)
Courtesy of Article Resource Association,
www.aracopy.com
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