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Thanksgiving Trivia

Fall triviaIt’s always fun to have Thanksgiving trivia handy for family and friends to show off their knowledge of Turkey day! Thanksgiving is one of our oldest and dearest traditions in the United States of America.

Enjoy and thank you for being a loyal WSGA member, we are truly grateful.

50 Family friendly Thanksgiving trivia questions!

  1. According to the Butterball corporation, they recommend that you thaw a wrapped turkey in the refrigerator how long per 4 pounds of bird? One Day per 4 Lbs.
  2. Thanksgiving is celebrated only in the United States. True or False? False, Canada also celebrates Thanksgiving
  3. The Greek Goddess of Corn is: Demeter
  4. The first department store to hold a Thanksgiving parade was: Gimbel’s
  5. What is the name of the famous rock credited to where the pilgrims first landed? Plymouth Rock
  6. Butterball says that once the turkey is done, you should let it stand for 15 minutes before serving. Why? To let the stuffing cool a bit before you take it out.
  7. The Indians who were invited to the Thanksgiving feast were? The Wampanoag tribe.
  8. Who was their chief? Massasoit
  9. What was the name of the ship the pilgrims came over on? Mayflower Who was the captain of this ship? Christopher Jones
  10. Thanksgiving became a national holiday thanks to this woman who was an editor of a woman’s magazine called “The Godey’s Lady’s Book”. Who was she? Sarah Hale hand wrote letters to Congress for years to establish Thanksgiving
  11. Which President was the first to establish Thanksgiving as a legal national holiday to be held the 4th Thursday in November? Franklin D. Roosevelt
  12. In Canada, they celebrate Thanksgiving in what month? October- the second Monday in October
  13. The term “Cornucopia” means what? Horn of Plenty
  14. What was the original name for the pilgrims? Puritans
  15. Butterball recommends that you cover the breast and the top of the drumsticks with aluminum foil when? When it is 2/3 cooked, so that they are not over cooked
  16. What part of the turkey is saved and snapped as a superstitious good luck custom? Wishbone
  17. The word turkey is said to come from the Hebrew word “Tukki” which means: Big Bird or Pheasant Bird
  18. Which President moved Thanksgiving up one week to help stimulate the Christmas shopping economy? Franklin D. Roosevelt
  19. What is the name of the book that Governor William Bradford wrote telling of the troubles and experiences of the pilgrims? Of Plimouth Plantation
  20. Captain John Smith founded what colony in Virginia? Jamestown
  21. What poet wrote “The Courtship of Miles Standish?” Longfellow
  22. True or False- The pilgrims took beer with them on their voyage. True, in fact John Alden was a cooper who made the barrels
  23. True or False- Butterball says that when making your turkey stuffing, you should have all the ingredients already cooked before you put it into the bird. True, you should make it right before stuffing the bird; not hours or days earlier.
  24. The town of Plymouth, Massachusetts celebrates this on December 11 every year: Forefather’s Day, in honor of the people who founded Plymouth colony in 1769.
  25. True or False- The real Plymouth rock is cracked: Cracked during the revolutionary war.
  26. True or False- Indian corn is for decoration purposes only and not for cooking. True, it is very a very hard variety of corn.
  27. In what year did the first Macy’s Thanksgiving parade take place? 1924
  28. True or False- Thanksgiving is a religious holiday. It is a harvest celebration with no religious ties.
  29. Butterball says the best place to put the meat thermometer in the turkey is: Thigh
  30. WHYis the male turkey often referred to as “Tom Turkey?” After Thomas Jefferson, because Jefferson was opposed to the idea of a turkey as our national bird.
  31. It is believed that how many pilgrim women survived to celebrate the first Thanksgiving in 1621? And all five women served the meal.
  32. The first Thanksgiving in 1621 was believed to have lasted how many days? 3 days
  33. By the 19th century, celebrating Thanksgiving is said to have been the origin of what table tradition? Having a kiddies’ table for the children to eat at
  34. On June 20, 1998, in Bellevue, Ohio Dale Gasteier built at 52 foot what to celebrate the American Thanksgiving holiday? A 52’ free-standing illuminating star
  35. Every year the President of the US pardons a turkey and it goes to a public farm called Frying Pan Park, Herndon, VA. Which president is believed to be the first to pardon a turkey and start this annual tradition? President Harry Truman in 1947
  36. Before being harvested and sold, an individual cranberry must bounce at least how many inches high to make sure they aren’t too ripe? 4 inches
  37. The busiest travel day of the year is: The Friday after Thanksgiving
  38. True or False- The first meal eaten on the moon by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldren was a roasted turkey dinner with all the trimmings. True, but we wonder if they drink TANG?
  39. Which balloon was the first balloon in the 1927 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: Felix the Cat
  40. True or False- Turkeys can drown if they look up in the rain. True
  41. In October of 1777, George Washington declared an “All Colony Thanksgiving” because he was feeling really good due to: The victory over Saratoga
  42. True or false- The following towns with “turkey” in their names, are really towns in the United States. Turkey, Texas, Turkey Creek, Louisiana, Turkey, North Carolina and Turkey Feather, New Mexico. There is no Turkey Feather, New Mexico. All others towns are correct.
  43. True or false- Historians have proven that the pilgrims didn’t really wear those funny hats and buckles on their shoes. No one knows how the pilgrim imagine began.
  44. The longest balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is, but of course:
  45. In 1943, Norman Rockwell created his famous “Freedom From Want” illustration by using a Thanksgiving dinner as an example of this. This illustration first appeared on which magazine? The Saturday Evening Post
  46. Back in the early 1600’s, the pilgrims didn’t have which this utensil to eat their Thanksgiving meal with? Forks, they had not been invented yet.
  47. How many pilgrims were on the Mayflower? 102
  48. How long was the voyage from England to the New World? 66 Day
  49. True or False- The pilgrims dressed really colorfully. The puritans wore black and white, the pilgrims wore colorful clothing.
  50. Of the original 102 pilgrims that came, approximately how many survived to celebrate the first Thanksgiving? 50

Post and questions originally form www.examiner.com