The First Thanksgiving Didn’t Included Turkey…Wait, What?

Just when you think you knew it all, history comes and slaps you right in the gobbler! Check out this list of random Thanksgiving facts.

#1.)  The first Thanksgiving featured shrimp and deer, but no turkey.  There's no evidence the Pilgrims ate turkey at the first Thanksgiving in 1621.  A journal says they did eat "wild fowl" . . . but that probably means duck or goose.

#2.)  Four women prepared the entire first Thanksgiving.  Yes, four women cooked dinner for about 140 people.

#3.)  Thanksgiving wasn't a public holiday until Lincoln.  In the middle of the Civil War, in 1863, Lincoln made Thanksgiving a public holiday.  Before that, presidents could either declare it a holiday or not.

#4.)  The first three Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades featured live animals.  From 1924 through 1926, they borrowed animals from the Central Park Zoo.  In 1927, Felix the Cat became the first balloon.

#5.)  There wasn't pumpkin pie until the SECOND Thanksgiving.  At the first Thanksgiving, butter, flour, and sugar were too scarce.  For the second Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims decided those were worth the investment.

#6.)  The Detroit Lions are the reason for football on Thanksgiving.  In 1934, the Lions owner decided he needed to do some CRAZY STUNTS to get Detroit fans to care about the Lions as much as they cared about the Tigers. So he scheduled a game for Thanksgiving . . . and it was a huge success.  They've played every Thanksgiving since, except the ones during World War Two.

#7.)  Green bean casserole didn't exist until 1955.  It was created by the people at Campbell's Soup to try to figure out a way to sell more cream of mushroom soup.  Now, they sell at least $20 MILLION worth every Thanksgiving.

#8.)  Tonight is the single biggest day for bar sales in the U.S.  Everyone's back in their hometown and everyone's getting drunk.  It even beats St. Patrick's Day, because people don't just target Irish bars tonight.  They'll drink anywhere.

#9.)  Turkey is a bad source of tryptophan.  You fall asleep after Thanksgiving dinner because you're full and kinda drunk, not because of the turkey.  Turkey has less tryptophan than egg whites, cod, soy, cheddar cheese, pork, and chicken.

#10.)  Tons of people are going to restaurants tomorrow.  About 14 million Americans will eat Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant tomorrow night instead of at home.

via Buzzfeed / 11 Points / Boston Globe / Mental Floss / USA Today / Wikipedia