Greetings to all my
readers,
I
wish to apologize for not having been very active with reviews or much else
lately. I’ve had a lot of family issues keeping me busy and not giving me the
time I need to keep up with my reading for reviews. I’m hoping to get back on
track again in the next few weeks. I want to thank you for still coming by, and
for faithfully following when I’ve only had a few things to share with you.
The
past couple of months have been difficult and the upcoming holidays will most
likely not see as much good cheer as holidays of the past. However, I do wish
to express my gratitude to you all and to count among my blessings the
wonderful people I’ve met through my years doing this blog. Without you, my
life would not be as full as it is and so this Thanksgiving, my readers are at
the top of my ‘what I am thankful for’ list.
10 Fun Facts About Thanksgiving
**maybe armed with
these, you can prevent any discussions of politics**
1. Leaving
a legacy—when Abe Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, it was
thanks to the tireless efforts of a magazine editor named Sarah Josepha Hale –
who also wrote the nursery rhyme, "Mary had a Little Lamb."
2. Born
in the U.S.A.—but Thanksgiving is not just an American holiday. Canadians
celebrate it too, except they do it the second Monday in October.
3.
Have it your way—if Ben Franklin had had his way, the turkey would be our
national bird. An eagle, he had written in a letter to his daughter, had
"bad moral character." A turkey, on the other hand, was a "much more respectable bird."
4.
Speaking of birds…gobble, gobble? Hold on there…Only male turkeys, called toms,
gobble. Females, called hens, cackle.
5.
And to make it worse, they are doomed from birth—those poor turkeys just don't
stand a chance. Just look at the name we give them. A turkey less than
12-weeks-old is called a fryer-roaster.
6.
Ever wonder why this succulent dinner bird is even called a turkey? Well, it
seems the Europeans took a liking to the guinea fowls imported to the continent,
and since the birds were imported by Turkish merchants, the English called
them turkeys. Later, when the Spaniards came to America, they found a bird that
tasted like those guinea fowls. Consequently, when they were sent to Europe,
the English called these birds "turkeys" as well.
7.
There are four places in the U.S. named Turkey. Louisiana's Turkey Creek is the
most populous, with a whopping 440 residents. There's also Turkey, Texas;
Turkey, North Carolina; and Turkey Creek, Arizona. Oh, let's not forget the two
townships in Pennsylvania—the creatively named Upper Turkeyfoot and Lower
Turkeyfoot!
8. Going
shopping for all the big sales? Well, if you’re a plumber you probably won’t
be. Black Friday is the busiest day of the year for them, according to
Roto-Rooter, the nation's largest plumbing service. After all, someone has to
clean up after household guests who "overwhelm the system."
9.
A tradition is born— TV dinners have Thanksgiving to thank. In 1953, someone at
Swanson misjudged the number of frozen turkeys it would sell that Thanksgiving
-- by 26 TONS! Some industrious soul came up with a brilliant plan: Why not
slice up the meat and repackage with some trimmings on the side. Thus, the
first TV dinner was born!
10.
Finally, something truly unique to add to your trivia list—in 2013, the first
day of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving came together for
the first time since 1888. Scientists say the confluence won't occur again
for another 70,000 years, give or take a millennium.
And Some Funnies because what would Thanksgiving be, without a few laughs.
May
your holidays be filled with joy, laughter, good reading
and most importantly,
love.
Happy
Thanksgiving Everyone, safe travels, good eats,
and Happy Reading!
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