Thanksgiving Fact or Fiction

Think you know your holiday? Try you hand at this quick Fact or Fiction quiz about Thanksgiving.

FACT OR FICTION...The tradition of watching football on Thanksgiving began in 1934 when the Detroit Lions played the Chicago Bears.

While it's true that 1934 was the first year the Detroit Lions played on Thanksgiving and they have played every Thanksgiving since except during World War II, the tradition of football on the holiday goes all the way back to 1876. That's when the first championship game of the American Intercollegiate Football Association was held on Thanksgiving Day. By the 1890's over 5,000 club, college and high school football games were being played on Thanksgiving. Therefore fiction.

FACT OR FICTION...Turkey really does contain something that makes you sleepy.

Is it true that the amino acid tryptophan is in turkey and makes you sleepy, or is it simply all the overeating that does it? Well, perhaps it's both, but for sure turkey really does contain this natural sedative and does cause drowsiness. But you should know it's also found in chicken, pork, beef, beans and cheese. The overeating of fats and carbs is equally responsible for that tired feeling. So fact but with an asterisk.

FACT OR FICTION...Turkeys cannot fly.

It depends on whether you're talking domestic turkeys that are the kind which end up on the dinner table or wild turkeys. Domestics cannot fly. However wild turkeys can fly but only for short distances at speeds of almost 55 mph. Therefore fact (sort of).

FACT OR FICTION...Macy's practically owns Thanksgiving since it was the first American department store to sponsor a parade.

The Macy's parade launched in 1924. It was a hit but became even more famous after being featured in 1947's Miracle on 34th Street. That movie shows actual footage from the parade the year before. However Macy's was not the first. The very first was sponsored by the Philadelphia department store Gimbel's. Mark the Macy's claim as fiction.

FACT OR FICTION...Thanksgiving is always held on the final Thursday in November.

It was decreed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that the last Thursday of November be a national day of giving thanks. In 1939 President Franklin Roosevelt ordered it be held on the fourth Thursday of the month and never the occasional fifth. Why? Because the National Retail Dry Goods Association requested it so that the holiday shopping season would be extended by a week. For Franklin it was all about the Benjamins. So once true, but now fiction.

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