It’s here! Well almost here anyway- we’re talking about Thanksgiving this Thursday! Most of us look forward to Thanksgiving due to the large amount of food associated with the holiday. However, there are multiple other reasons to put a gobble in your step come Thursday, such as family time, cooling temperatures, changing leaves and football! Here at MyCorp, we want to make sure that you and your family enjoy Thanksgiving to the fullest and we’ve rustled up a a few fun Thanksgiving facts just in time for the holiday.
History
According to the History Channel online, though many competing claims exist, the most familiar story of the first Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth Colony, in present-day Massachusetts, in 1621. More than 200 years later, President Abraham Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving. Congress finally made Thanksgiving Day an official national holiday in 1941. This year, Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 24th.
Travel
As we mentioned, Thanksgiving, for many families, means traveling in order to join their families. In 2010, the American Automobile Association (AAA) estimated that 42.2 million Americans traveled 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. No wonder the day before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel days of the year!
Turkey
Of course, we all know that turkey goes hand in hand with Thanksgiving, but exactly how much turkey does America consume each year? The National Turkey Federation estimated that 46 million turkeys—one fifth of the annual total of 235 million consumed in the United States in 2007—were eaten at Thanksgiving. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Minnesota is the top turkey-producing state in America, with a planned production total of 46.5 million in 2011.
Pumpkin Pie
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds and measured just over 12 feet long. It was baked in Ohio, and included 900 pounds of pumpkin, 62 gallons of evaporated milk, 155 dozen eggs, 300 pounds of sugar, 3.5 pounds of salt, 7 pounds of cinnamon, 2 pounds of pumpkin spice and 250 pounds of crust! Illinois, California, Pennsylvania and New York are the major pumpkin growing states. Together they produced 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkin in 2010. Total U.S. production was over 1.5 billion pounds! That’s a lot of pumpkin!
Whether you are with your family or at home watching football this Thanksgiving, enjoy the holiday! We hope these fun facts inspire the turkey spirit within. Happy Thanksgiving from MyCorporation!