I Had No Idea...

• Seeing family you haven’t seen in a while? Not sure what to talk about during the Thanksgiving feast? Maybe these interesting little factoids will get the conversation flowing. 

• The first TV dinners were created by Swanson in 1953, due to the surplus of turkey’s leftover from Thanksgiving. The first one contained turkey, cornbread dressing, frozen peas and sweet potatoes.

• There is no evidence that turkey was eaten at the first Thanksgiving. It is more likely that they ate venison and a lot of seafood. 

• Turkey doesn’t actually make you sleepy. The chemical tryptophan is found in turkey but is found in higher concentration in soybeans, parmesan and pork. Perhaps the sleepiness just comes from eating so many calories in one big meal. 

• Thanksgiving didn’t begin with the pilgrims. It was made a public holiday by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. 

• It is estimated that 46 million turkeys’ are eaten on Thanksgiving. That is more than Christmas (22 Million) and Easter (19 Million).

• The first Macy’s Day Parade in 1924 did not have any balloons. Instead, over 1000 employees walked with nursery rhyme floats and the animals from Central Park Zoo. The first balloon appeared in 1927, it was Felix the Cat.

• Black Friday is the busiest day of the year for plumbers. According to Roto-Rooter, there is a business increase of 47-50% on the Friday after Thanksgiving. It is also not for the reason you might think… It is mostly the kitchen sink that gets clogged. 

• The night before Thanksgiving is the biggest drinking night of the year, beating out New Years Eve and Cinco De Mayo. 

• Humans are 75% genetically identical to pumpkins.