While the only foods known to have been served during the first Thanksgiving included deer, corn, and fish, today, the fourth Thursday of every November is a bona fide feast of turkey and cranberry sauce. In fact, around 20% of the cranberries consumed in the U.S. every year are eaten on Thanksgiving, and 7 billion pounds of turkey are sold annually for the holiday! Here are some more fun facts about Thanksgiving that you may not already know.
1. Historians believe that seal, swan, and lobster may have also been on the menu during the first Thanksgiving, which took place in 1621.
2. If you're feeling sleepy post-turkey, don't blame the tryptophan. Drowsiness is more likely caused by over-eating and -imbibing!
3. The heaviest turkey ever raised weighed in at a whopping 86 pounds.
4. Over 3 million people attend Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade every year. The first parade was held in 1924.
5. Benjamin Franklin campaigned for the turkey to be our country's national bird, instead of the bald eagle.
Thanksgiving Fun Facts [WHSV-TV3]
10 Interesting Thanksgiving Facts [TIFO]
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