11 Things You Didn't Know About Thanksgiving

BRIGHTON, Mich. - Since that historical first Thanksgiving dinner, Americans across the country have come together with family and friends to eat and be thankful for all that they have. Despite enjoying this great holiday every year, the origins and facts surrounding the holiday sometimes get lost. That's why we've come up with 11 things you PROBABLY didn't know about Thanksgiving:

1. The first Thanksgiving dinner took place in Plymouth Colony in October of 1621. Many believe that the first dinner took place in November (which is why we celebrate it during this time) but it was actually October! AND the dinner took place for three days - talk about a lot of food!

2. George Washington advocated that Thanksgiving become an official holiday on October 3, 1789, but it didn't actually become one until Abraham Lincoln declared it so in 1863.

3. President Franklin D. Roosevelt is responsible for the modern date of Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. He established this date in 1940.

4. Minnesota produces the most turkeys in the U.S. North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Virginia and Indians are top producers as well.

5. The average weight of a Thanksgiving turkey is 15 pounds. In 2007 alone, Americans consumed about 690 millions pounds of turkey!

6. The first football game that took place on Thanksgiving Day was in 1934, when the Detroit Lions played the Chicago Bears.

7. Thanksgiving is responsible for the creation of TV dinners. In 1953, the food company C.A. Swanson & Sons overstocked on turkey meat and had 260 tons of turkey left over from Thanksgiving. To use up the food, they created the TV dinner by putting the turkey leftovers in a futuristic looking
box.

8. Humans are 75 percent genetically identical to the pumpkin.

9. American average anywhere from 3,782 - 4,500 calories on the day of Thanksgiving.

10. Cranberries are native to America and the biggest producing states are Wisconsin and Massachusetts. In 2012, Farmers produced about 768 million pounds!

11. The biggest pumpkin pie ever bakes was 2,020 pounds and was over 12 feet long!

With the 11 things you didn't know about Thanksgiving fresh in your mind, we hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! If you need a ride getting to your Thanksgiving dinner, come on by our dealership and we'll quickly get you into a low mileage used car, certified pre-owned car for sale, or a new Ford car - we're here to help!

Brighton Ford is located at 8240 Grand River Ave. just north of I-96 in Brighton. We are a family owned and operated business that strives for customer satisfaction. For more information on Brighton Ford visit BrightonFord.com or give us a call at (800) 836-8206.

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