Turkey day trivia

Ah, the majestic turkey. \nIt’s the very first thing to enter your mind when you hear the word “Thanksgiving,” even before pilgrims, Indians, colonialism and mass exploitation. Its elegant figure graces the bulletin boards in elementary schools around the country for the entire month of November, and the tryptophan-filled nourishment it provides induces comas and dumb remarks from those who have overindulged in it across the U.S.\nMyself, I am an outsider to the turkey tradition. A godless, un-American vegetarian (or so I’ve been told), the closest I will ever come to a drumstick or a wing is a mouth-watering slab of Tofurky. Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it! \nAnyway, as an outsider, I have always wondered just what our country’s obsession is with this not-so-graceful, not-so-attractive bird. \nIt turns out that turkeys historically had a great deal of admirers. At one point in American history, both the bald eagle and the turkey were considered national symbols. In fact, Benjamin Franklin argued that although turkeys are “vain and silly,” they are better suited to represent the country, as bald eagles are “cowards.”\nAnd although there is no hard evidence that the pilgrims actually feasted on turkey at the first Thanksgiving, William Bradford mentioned the bird in his “History of Plymouth Plantation,” written 22 years after the fact. I wonder how much Butterball paid him for that one!\nYou may also be surprised to know that our national obsession extends far beyond the Thanksgiving table. Although his character is not intended to resemble a turkey, Big Bird, the Godfather of Sesame Street, owes the turkey a debt of sorts – his costume is composed of 4,000 white turkey feathers that have been dyed bright yellow.\nBut beyond providing costuming, turkeys have actually been known to sport clothing themselves. In 18th century England, farmers marched their turkeys to market in large herds, often covering their feet with tiny booties to protect them along the way.\nThis is not to say that turkeys have always been seen as nothing more than dinner and leftovers. In fact, the Aztecs in Mexico considered turkeys so important that they dedicated two religious festivals a year to them. The turkey, beyond a revered food source, was also one of the manifestations of the trickster god Tezcatlipoca. \nSomehow, still, turkeys have managed to gain a reputation for not exactly being the brightest of birds. On rainy days, turkeys have been known to drown from tilting their beaks up to the sky to observe the precipitation. \nFor those of you who simply cannot get enough of these familiar fowl, you can celebrate the glory incarnate in the turkey more than just every Thanksgiving – June is National Turkey Lover’s Month.\nSo there you go – a brief history of our ill-fated November bird of choice. Keep this turkey trivia in mind at the table when you are dining on turkey and gravy … and the next day as you finish your turkey hash … and the day after that when you reluctantly spoon the last drop of turkey soup into your leftover-weary mouth.