Turkey History

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Thanksgiving, traditionally, is a time of gathering families together to express our gratitude for one another over a large roasted turkey. According to the Huffington Post, one fifth of the total 235 million turkeys eaten in the United States are consumed on Thanksgiving Day (1). There are a number of different theories on how the turkey got its name. Some people say that Columbus thought that the land he discovered was connected to India which was known for having large flocks of peacocks. When he saw these strange large birds he thought they were related to the peacock family so he named them Tuka, which means peacock in the language of India (2). Others say that the name came from Native American’s calling them Firkee, which was later adapted to Turkey (2). Another theory is that the birds did not come directly from the New World to England. Instead, they came via merchant ships from the eastern Mediterranean Sea which were called ‘Turkey Merchants’ because a lot of the area was a part of the Turkish Empire at the time. Purchasers of the birds back home in England thought the fowl came from the area so they called them ‘turkey birds’ and soon after just ‘turkeys’ (2).
The wild turkey has between 5,000 and 6,000 feathers that cover almost the entire body of an adult turkey in patterns called feather tracts. These feathers provide a variety of survival functions for the wild turkey such as insulation, flight, and advertisement for reproduction. The amount of feathers and the different type of feathers allow it to stay dry and warm while also allowing it to fly. Unlike its domesticated counterpart, who is to large and heavy to fly, wild turkeys can fly up to 55 mph according to NWTF.org (3). Not only can they fly, but they hav...

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...turkey become the main part of this holiday meal after the first Thanksgiving? It would not have made sense to feast on chickens or cows because they produce useful foods such as eggs and milk. Wild turkeys were larger than chickens and easier to hunt than geese, so it made more sense to eat them on Thanksgiving. The birds are large enough to feed many people and unlike pork, turkey wasn't so common that it didn't seem like a suitable choice for a special occasion (5).

Works Cited

1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/21/thanksgiving-weight_n_4303302.html
2. http://urbanext.illinois.edu/turkey/history.cfm
3. http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/wild_turkey_facts.html
4. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-11/todays-turkeys-are-genetically-distinct-their-proud-wild-ancestors
5. http://www.thelaboroflove.com/articles/why-is-turkey-served-on-thanksgiving

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