Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are some fun turkey facts I compiled from a quick Google search:

• Turkeys spend the night in trees. They fly to their roosts around sunset.
• Oh hey. Turkeys fly :P (Silly, I know, but hey, they're HUGE! I didn't think they could fly! It says commercially raised turkeys can't fly but still... I like learning.)
• They can swim too!
• They can run at speeds up to 20 miles per hour and can burst into flight approaching speeds between 50-55 mph in a matter of seconds.
• Benjamin Franklin wanted the national bird to be a turkey.
• For their first meal on the moon, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin ate roast turkey in foil packets.
• 50% of US consumers eat turkey at least once per week.
• Turkeys can see in color.
• Male turkeys (toms) gobble. Hens do not. They make a clicking noise.
• Around nineteen million turkeys are eaten each easter, twenty-two on Christmas, and FORTY FIVE million on Thanksgiving!
• Turkeys' heads change color when they become excited.
• Turkeys have a wingspan of about 4.5 feet. I am 5 feet tall. Wow.
• The thing that hangs from the top of the beak is called a snood. Nice word.
• Scientists believe turkeys have been around for over 10 million years. I wonder how big they were then O_o
• A group of turkeys is called a rafter. Most people call them a flock or a gang but the official term is rafter.
• It is possible for a turkey hen to lay a fertilized egg without mating. This process, called parthenogenesis, also occurs in some invertebrates, fish, and lizards. For turkeys, this process always produces male chicks. These male turkeys are no different from male turkeys hatched from mating.
• It takes about a month for a turkey egg to hatch.
• Peacocks aren't the only birds who use their fancy tails to attract a mate. Each spring, male turkeys try to befriend as many females as possible. Toms puff up their bodies and spread their tail feathers just like a peacock.

Hope everyone has a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving! Eat tons and enjoy your day!