Well it’s about Thanksgiving, so naturally this blog will be about turkeys. Here are some fun facts you may or may not need to know but will make for great conversation with family and friends.
- Turkeys can fly—-at least the wild ones. The wild ones can fly at 55 MPH. But the domesticated turkeys have been bred to be hefty—not aerodynamic.
- Turkeys were named—after the country Turkey.
- Turkeys nearly went extinct by the early 20th Century. Overzealous hunting and habitat destruction nearly took them out. But conservationists stepped in and now they are so numerous—they are a nuisance.
- Turkeys don’t have teeth, but they have two stomachs to break down their food.
- All turkeys don’t gobble. Only the male turkeys. All turkeys cackle, purr, and yelp—but only the males gobble.
- Eating turkey will not put you to sleep. Yes, there are tryptophan’s –which have a calming effect-but you would need to eat a whole turkey—and nothing else—to feel the effect. Your sleepy feeling is from all the excess carbs and alcohol.
- Turkeys have great vision—their peripheral vision is 270 degrees (humans are 180).
- Not only can turkeys fly fast—they can run up to 25 MPH on the ground.
- And finally—-there was no turkey at the First Thanksgiving. The written menu was “fowl”—but this probably meant duck—goose or grouse.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
George Saffarrans
CEO, Rogers Poultry