Fun Thanksgiving Facts and Trivia

DID YOU KNOW...

Here are a few fun facts related to Thanksgiving and some of the main ingredients that may be on your table this year. If you have your own "fun facts," please add them in the comments section below. Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Facts:

The original cornucopia came from a curved goat's horn.

Congress declared Thanksgiving a National Holiday in 1941.

The Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe of Native Americans celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621, which lasted three days.

The original Thanksgiving did not feature milk, cheese, bread, butter, mashed potatoes, corn, or pumpkin pie.

President Thomas Jefferson opposed the idea of a national Thanksgiving Day.

The Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where they built on the land.

The famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade began in the 1920s.

Since 1947, the President has received a live turkey, pardoning it to live out its remaining years on a farm.

Canada also celebrates Thanksgiving, but on the second Monday in October.

According to the American Automobile Association, 38 million Americans traveled an estimated 50 miles or more from home during Thanksgiving weekend in 2009.

Turkey Facts:

Scientists have found fossils indicating that turkeys roamed North America 10 million years ago.

When Columbus discovered North America, he mistakenly believed the turkey was a type of peacock from India.

90% of American homes serve turkey on Thanksgiving.

50% serve turkey on Christmas.

Abraham Lincoln designated the last Thursday in November for Thanksgiving.

More than 45 million turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving, totaling over 675 million pounds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The average Thanksgiving dinner contains 4,575 calories.

It’s rumored that Big Bird's outfit on Sesame Street is made of turkey feathers.

Wild turkeys can run up to 20 mph and fly short distances up to 55 mph.

Benjamin Franklin advocated for the turkey to be the national bird, arguing that it was native to America.

Potato Facts:

An American eats approximately 140 pounds of potatoes each year.

In 1995, the Space Shuttle Columbia took a potato plant into space, making it the first food to grow in space.

A potato is made up of 80% water.

Yams and sweet potatoes are not the same; they belong to different botanical families.

Sweet potatoes have existed since prehistoric times.

The potato ranks as the 4th most important crop in the world, following wheat, rice, and corn.

Potatoes yield more food per acre than any other crop.

Potatoes are grown in every state in the U.S.

Royals once wore potato blossoms on their clothing as a fashion statement.

Contrary to popular belief, potatoes were not part of the original Thanksgiving, as they had not yet been introduced to North America.

Stuffing Facts:

About 50% of Americans stuff their turkeys with stuffing (or "dressing").

Stuffing varies regionally—cornbread stuffing is popular in the South, while white bread stuffing is more common in other parts of the country. Many variations include different ingredients mixed with the bread.

Stuffing dates back to the Roman Empire. The ancient cookbook Apicius de re Coquinaria featured recipes for stuffed chicken, rabbit, pork, and more.

Stove Top introduced its famous boxed stuffing in 1972.

Today, Stove Top sells around 60 million boxes of stuffing each Thanksgiving.

There is no evidence that stuffing was served at the first Thanksgiving.

Green Bean Facts:

An estimated 40 million green bean casseroles are served on Thanksgiving.

Campbell's Green Bean Casserole recipe, which uses their cream of mushroom soup, was created in 1955.

One cup of green beans contains only about 40 calories.

The French were the first to include green beans on their menu.

China is the largest producer of fresh green beans.

Green beans are also called snap beans because of the sound they make when broken. They’re sometimes called string beans, as older varieties had a long string running along the seam of the bean.

Cranberry Facts:

An estimated 20% of cranberries consumed each year are eaten on Thanksgiving.

Native Americans ate cranberries and used them in their fabrics, pottery, and for medicinal purposes.

In 2009, the United States produced approximately 709 million pounds of cranberries.

The top cranberry-growing states are Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington.

The Pilgrims named the fruit "craneberry" because its drooping heads in the spring reminded them of a crane.

A cranberry is most ripe when it can bounce.

The Cape Cod Cranberry Company produced the first canned cranberry sauce in the early 1900s.

Only 5% of cranberries grown are sold fresh; the rest are processed into cranberry juice, cranberry sauce, and other products.

A cup of fresh cranberries has about 50 calories, while a cup of cranberry sauce contains around 400 calories.

Pumpkin Facts:

Illinois, California, Pennsylvania, and New York are the top pumpkin-growing states.

These states produced around 1 billion pounds of pumpkin in 2008.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed over 2,000 pounds and measured more than 12 feet long. The New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers from Ohio baked it in October 2005.

Pumpkins are 90% water.

Illinois grows about 90% of the pumpkins processed in the United States each year.

Early colonial settlers used pumpkins for pie crusts rather than filling.

Pumpkin is a fruit.

Pumpkins grow on six of the seven continents.

Steve Clarke of Havertown, Pennsylvania, holds the world record for the fastest pumpkin carving. In 2000, he carved a 27-pound pumpkin in 1 minute 14 seconds, beating the previous record by 19 seconds.

Pumpkins come in various colors, including green, red, yellow, white, blue, tan, and orange.

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