TRIVIA:
TURKEY
TRIVIA
* Turkeys originated
in North and Central America, and evidence indicates that they have been
around for over 10 million years.
* The American Indians
hunted wild turkey for its sweet, juicy meat as early as 1000 AD.
Turkey feathers were used to stabilize arrows and adorn ceremonial dress,
and the spurs on the legs of wild tom turkeys were used as projectiles
on arrowheads. They also shared a place in their folklore.
The Navajos tell of an enormous hen turkey that flew over their fields
bringing them corn and teaching them how to cultivate their crops.
The Apache Indians considered the turkey timid and wouldn't eat it or use
its feathers on their arrows.
* In Mexico, the
turkey was considered a sacrificial bird. As an article of tribute
Montezuma received 365,000 turkeys per year from his subjects.
* Benjamin Franklin
was displeased when the bald eagle was chosen over his proposed "original
native" turkey as a national symbol. He said the turkey is a more
respectable bird and a true original native of America.
* Until 1863, Thanksgiving
day had not been celebrated annually since the first feast in 1621.
This changed in 1863 when Sarah Josepha Hale encouraged Abraham Lincoln
to set aside the last Thursday in November "as a day for national thanksgiving
and prayer."
* Turkey eggs are
pale creamy tan with brown speckles, and twice as large as chicken eggs.
They hatch in 28 days. A baby turkey is called a poult and is tan
and brown.
* Domesticated turkeys
(farm raised) cannot fly. Wild turkeys can fly for short distances
at up to 55 miles per hour. Wild turkeys are also fast on the ground,
running at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour.
* A large group
of turkeys is called a flock.
* Only male turkeys
(toms) gobble; females (hens) make a clicking noise. The gobble is
a seasonal call during the Spring and Fall. Hens are attracted for
mating when a tom gobbles. Wild toms love to gobble when they hear
loud sounds or settle in for the night.
* Turkeys have great
hearing, a poor sense of smell, but an excellent sense of taste.
They can also see in color, and have excellent visual acuity and a wide
field of vision (about 270 degrees), which makes sneaking up on them difficult.
* Turkeys are fed
mainly a balanced diet of corn and soybean meal mixed with a supplement
of vitamins and minerals. On average, it takes 75-80 pounds of feed
to raise a 30-pound tom turkey.
* Mature turkeys
have 3,500 or so feathers at maturity.
* The Guiness Book
of Records states that the largest dressed weight (cooked, with dressing)
recorded for a turkey is 39.09 kg (86 lb.) on December 12, 1989.
* In 1999, about
273 million turkeys were raised in the United States. An estimated
276 million turkeys will be raised in 2000.
* More than 45 million
turkeys are cooked and eaten during Thanksgiving.
* The average weight
of turkeys purchased for Thanksgiving is 15 pounds. A 15-pound turkey
typically has about 70% white meat and 30% dark meat.
* Americans feast
on approximately 535 million pounds of turkey on Thanksgiving.
* Last year 2.74
billion pounds of turkey were processed in the United States.
* Californians are
the biggest turkey eaters in the country. They eat three pounds more
turkey than
the average American consumer.
* Ninety percent
of American homes eat turkey on Thanksgiving. Fifty percent eat turkey
on Christmas.
* The good old-fashioned
turkey sandwich is the most popular way for Americans to prepare the fowl,
accounting for 44 percent of consumption.
* North Carolina
produces 61 million turkeys annually, more than any other state.
Minnesota and Arkansas are number two and three.
* When U.S.
astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin sat down to eat their first
meal on the moon in their historic 1969 voyage, their foil food packets
contained roasted turkey and all the trimmings.
* In the last twenty
years, Americans' love of turkey has soared. Consumption based upon
USDA data indicates: