Some Thanksgiving Facts

Thanksgiving trivia from John Green and Mental Floss

• TV dinners were invented because of leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

• The average American eats about 16 pounds of turkey per year.

• Over 800,000 turkeys die of heart attacks every year.

• The "gobble" sound that male turkeys make can be heard over a mile away.

• Stuffing dates back to the fourth century

• Apple pie is the most popular pie in America

• The average American eats between 3000 and 5000 calories at Thanksgiving dinner

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Pale Blue Dot

Happy Thanksgiving!

Valerie Strauss has a list of fun facts about Thanksgiving. A few samples are below...check out the rest.

Thanksgiving: 248 million turkeys and other fun facts

248 million

The number of turkeys expected to be raised in the United States in 2011. That’s up 2 percent from the number raised during 2010. The turkeys produced in 2010 together weighed 7.11 billion pounds and were valued at $4.37 billion.

The source for this and the following food facts is the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.

46.5 million

The preliminary estimate of turkeys Minnesota is expected to raise in 2011. The Gopher State was tops in turkey production, followed by:

North Carolina 30 million

Arkansas 30 million

Missouri 18 million

Virginia 17.5 million

Indiana 16 million

These six states together account for about two-thirds of U.S. turkeys produced in 2011. 

13.3 pounds

The quantity of turkey consumed by the typical American in 2009, with no doubt a hearty helping devoured at Thanksgiving time. Per capita sweet potato consumption was 5.3 pounds.

$1.38

Retail cost per pound of a frozen whole turkey in December 2010.