As accountants, we naturally love numbers, percentages, and figures of all sorts. Since most of you normal folks out there don’t share that love, I thought instead of boring you with accounting and budgeting percentages today, I’d share some interesting Thanksgiving facts and figures with you.
- 4,500 – the number of calories an average person consumes on Thanksgiving day. That’s over double the normal 2.000 calorie per day diet! Plan on working all of those extra calories off at the gym? Hope you’ve got some time. The average male takes just under 11 hours to burn off that Thanksgiving Day binge
- 83% – the percentage of hosts that literally do it all. They shop, they prep, they cook, they clean. You know what they say, “many hands make light work”. Give your poor host(ess) a hand this year.
- $780 Million – the average amount spent on turkeys for Thanksgiving dinners. On average, 46 million turkeys (at an average weight of 16-17 lbs.) will be consumed. Since I’m the numbers person, I’ll do the math for you. That’s nearly 782 MILLION pounds of turkey! It’s a wonder the poor birds aren’t extinct!
- 37 – the number of locations in the US that is named “Plymouth”. You can still go to Plymouth Rock today and experience life “simply” as it was back in the time of the Colonists. If you register early enough (try June or July), you can experience Thanksgiving as the early colonists did with a smorgasbord of Thanksgiving favorites along with the story of the very first Thanksgiving.
- 1 – the number of turkeys pardoned by the President each Thanksgiving. Every year, the president chooses which turkey will be the star of the Whitehouse Thanksgiving Day feast, and which feathered friend will live to see another day. This yearly tradition takes place the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. One lucky bird will escape with his life, the other one, well, you can figure it out…
- 21% – the increase in the number of service calls placed to plumbers over the holiday weekend. While everyone else is enjoying the 4-day weekend, the plumbers are busy at work. All of the household plumbing gets a workout over the busy holiday, so plumbers are busier this weekend than any other time during the year.
- 90% – the number of feathers rejected by Sesame Street for Big Bird. Believe it or not, Big Bird is really a turkey. Well, at least he’s made out of turkey feathers. Each feather is carefully scrutinized by Sesame Street staff. Only about 10% of the proposed feathers make the cut.
- 1621 – the year of the first Thanksgiving Dinner. Unlike today, the Pilgrims didn’t feast on turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. It’s likely they had venison, fish, oysters, and vegetables.
- 1953 – when a Thanksgiving mistake led to a multi-million dollar idea. A Swanson employee made a major mistake and ordered WAY too much turkey (260 tons to be exact). To use up the extra (and there was a lot of extra), the company packaged it into aluminum trays with popular side dishes, like potatoes. Thus, the TV dinner was born! The rest is history.
- 1920 – when football became a Thanksgiving Day tradition. Originally, the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys each hosted games on Thanksgiving Day. In 2006, the NFL expanded to allow for a third game in which different teams would be able to host Thanksgiving Day games.
Grundy, Kim. “20 Thanksgiving Fun Facts That Will Totally Impress the Kids.” All Parenting, 15 Nov. 2013, 9:00AM, allparenting.com/my-life/articles/96379/20-thanksgiving-fun-facts-to-teach-kids.
Huffman, Brenda Krueger. “Holiday Feature—Fun Thanksgiving Day Facts & Figures.” Women’s Voices Magazine, www.womensvoicesmagazines.com/2016/11/01/holiday-feature-fun-thanksgiving-day-facts-figures/.
Kiernan, John S. “Thanksgiving Fun Facts.” Wallet Hub, 8 Nov. 2017, wallethub.com/blog/thanksgiving-facts/28332/.
Mielach, David. “11 Surprising Thanksgiving Facts.” Live Science, 25 Nov. 2013, 3:23PM, www.livescience.com/41506-surprising-thanksgiving-facts.html.
Vultaggio, Maria. “Thanksgiving Fun Facts And Trivia: Here’s What You Didn’t Know About Turkey Day.” International Business Times, 23 Nov. 2016, 8:21PM, www.ibtimes.com/thanksgiving-fun-facts-trivia-heres-what-you-didnt-know-about-turkey-day-2449553.