Dear Kid,

As I believe I have mentioned, we are in the Official Thanksgiving Season (according to me). My friend the internet and I were hanging out (exhausted from making pumpkin muffins, watching football, and updating my Facebook status), and we decided to take a peek at some interesting Thanksgiving facts.

The first thing we found is that you have to look really hard to find interesting Thanksgiving facts. There are a hefty number (I counted) of dull and well-known Thanksgiving facts. There are even some Highly Disputed Thanksgiving facts. But being the kind of mom I am, I kept at it and I am delighted to present to you

Some Interesting and Lesser Known Thanksgiving Facts (or at least factlettes)

Our Neighbors to the North (no, not the Millers, the Canadians) celebrate their Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October. They refer to our celebration as “Yanksgiving” which seems like it would be the most fun fact about Turkey Day ever, but wait!

To tell if a cranberry is ripe, bounce it. Seriously. Throw that puppy on the ground (when your mother isn’t watching) and if it bounces at least four inches it’s ready. How you do this before picking is beyond me.

The first Thanksgiving Day football game was in 1876. NBC immediately went out to find someone to invent television. Speaking of television…

Thanksgiving is the proud parent of TV dinners. In 1953, someone at Swanson over bought turkeys and they had 260 tons (as in tons) of frozen turkeys left over. While the purchasing manager went on to work for the federal government, Swanson used the left over birds as the basis for inventing TV dinners.

The pilgrims didn’t use forks; they ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers. Please remember that you are not a pilgrim.

Hoping you find some facts more relevant to your college classes.

Love, Mom