• The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924.
• True or false: the song “Jingle Bells” was written for Thanksgiving. Answer: True.
• The skin that hangs from a turkey’s neck is called a “wattle.”
• According to the National Turkey Federation, more than 46 million turkeys are consumed on Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.
• The states that produce the most pumpkins include California, New York and Pennsylvania (combining for more than 1 billion pounds of pumpkin annually).
• According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Minnesota produces more turkeys than any other U.S. state.
• Question: Of these Thanksgiving favorites, which is lowest in calories: Pecan pie, pumpkin pie or apple pie? Answer: Pumpkin pie.
• A “spooked” wild turkey can run as fast as 20 miles per hour.
• Thanksgiving was first proclaimed a U.S. national holiday by President Abraham Lincoln.
• Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird of the U.S. (believing the eagle had “bad moral character” while the turkey was a “much more respectable bird”).
• Four U.S. towns have the word “turkey” in their names: Turkey, N.C., Turkey, Texas, Turkey Creek, Ariz., and Turkey Creek, La.
• The oldest “Turkey Trot” race is the Buffalo Turkey Trot, which has been put on by the YMCA since 1896.
• According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds and measured just over 12 feet long.
• According to the Guinness Book of Records, The heaviest turkey on record weighed 86 pounds (the average turkey weighs about 15 pounds).