JACKSON, Mich. –– Thanksgiving Day is a celebration of America's history. You may know that your pants will stretch while paying tribute to the nation’s holiday, but there’s still a large plate of Thanksgiving information you probably aren’t aware of. Before you dig into your meal, read up on these six strange facts about Thanksgiving so you have something interesting to talk about at the table.
1. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days.
After the surviving colonists stepped off the Mayflower, they decided to celebrate. Four men were sent on a fowling––a wild bird hunt––and returned with enough birds to feed the 50 survivors. Around 90 Native American men following the Wampanoag leader joined the celebration and brought along five deer. Lasting for three days, the first Thanksgiving entailed feasting on a variety of food, playing games, dancing, and shooting guns.2. Thanksgiving has only been an official national holiday since 1941.
Sarah Josepha Hale, the author of the classic nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, petitioned for over 40 years for Thanksgiving to become a national holiday. Thanks to her final letter to Abraham Lincoln, in 1863 he declared the last Thursday in November as a national Thanksgiving holiday. Congress finally set into U.S. law Thanksgiving as an official national holiday in 1941.3. Americans eat an astounding 690 millions pounds of turkey on Thanksgiving.
Consuming 690 million pounds of turkey sounds unreal, but when you consider how many helpings your family members eat on Thanksgiving Day and the amount of other families who do the same across our nation, it's a probable number. To give you an idea how much turkey that is, 690 million pounds is about the same weight as 172,500 cars.4. Eating turkey will not make you sleepy.
Everyone seems to have bought into the myth that the tryptophan in turkey makes a person sleepy when they consume it. However, there's far from enough tryptophan in turkey to make you pass out after a few slices of breast meat or a turkey leg. In fact, what causes you to feel sleepy is the amount of carbohydrates you consume from side dishes like potatoes, hence the after-meal nap we all want to take.5. Thank Thanksgiving for TV dinners.
If you've ever wondered where TV dinners came from, you can look to Swanson, a food delivery company still operating today. After Thanksgiving Day in 1953, the company was left with 260 tons of frozen turkey. Swanson's solution was to package portions of the turkey with potatoes, peas, and cornbread in an aluminum tray, making a dinner for one that could be frozen and heated when ready to eat.6. The Detroit Lions started Thanksgiving Day football games.
If one of your favorite traditions is watching football on Thanksgiving Day while the turkey cooks, you can thank the Detroit Lions. In 1934, the Detroit Lions hosted the first Thanksgiving Day football game against the Chicago Bears. The Lions lost 19–16, and while that may not be surprising in the context of today, in the 30s times were different. Going into the first Thanksgiving Day football game, the Lions held a 10–1 record, second place to the 11–0 Bears. Although 1934 constituted the first professional football game played on Thanksgiving Day, it wouldn't be until 1956 when the Lions versed the Green Bay Packers that the first Turkey Day game was broadcasted live on TV.Whether it's for the sake of being a know-it-all, or for impressing your history-buff Uncle you now have these six strange facts about Thanksgiving on your plate this year. As you now know, this American tradition extends beyond the dinner table just like our Ford and Lincoln dealership in Jackson, MI does more than just sell used cars and trucks and auto service. We care about your safety on the road, especially during busy holiday travel.
Seymour Ford Lincoln is located at 2601 Seymour Road in Jackson, Michigan 49201. No matter what your auto need, we will work hard to ensure you never leave our dealership unsatisfied! Visit us at SeymourFord.com and SeymourLincoln.net or give us a call at (517) 787-9500.
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