• Markets
• Economy
• Federal Reserve
• Housing
• Energy
• Digital Media

Happy Thanksgiving!

A few Thanksgiving factoids: 

-Thankgiving Myth: Turkey Makes You Sleepy

- Black Friday is not the busiest shopping day of the year: Between 1993 and 2002, it cracked the top five just three times, never rising higher than the fourth-busiest day of the year. Americans love to procrastinate: Eight years out of 10, the busiest day fell on the Saturday before Christmas.

- The Pilgrims never ate corn on the cob, apples, pears, potatoes or even cranberries -- and no one knows if they had turkey. All we know for sure is they had deer and fowl.

- The song "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" (aka "Alice's Restaurant") by Arlo Guthrie's is based on a true story that began on Thanksgiving Day. The song lasts 18 minutes and 20 seconds, and occupied the entire A-side of Guthrie's 1967 debut record album, titled Alice's Restaurant.  (full lyrics here)

- Dark vs Light meat? According to the Department of Agriculture, an ounce of boneless, skinless turkey breast contains about 46 calories and 1 gram of fat, compared with roughly 50 calories and 2 grams of fat for an ounce of boneless, skinless thigh. And, dark meat has other benefits -- more iron, zinc, riboflavin, thiamine, and vitamins B6 and B12 than white meat.

- Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving.  The Lions have been doing it for longer (1934 vs 1966). 

- Another myth: The US invented Thanksgiving. Turns out that humans have been holding harvest festivals for ages. In ancient times, Middle Eastern peoples offered wheat to "The Great Mother" or "Mother of the Wheat." In medieval times, central Europeans celebrated their harvests at Feast of Saint Martin on November 11th.

-The original feast in 1621 occurred sometime between September 21 and November 11. Unlike our modern holiday, it was three days long. The event was based on English harvest festivals, which traditionally occurred around the 29th of September. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set the date for Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of November in 1939 (approved by Congress in 1941). Abraham Lincoln had previously designated it as the last Thursday in November.

-And if you think your family is crazy, remember this: each year, the Aztecs would behead a young girl representing Xilonen, the corn goddess.   

 

via GreenTaxi

Thursday, November 22, 2007 | 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
add to de.li.cious | digg this! | add to technorati | email this post

Comments

I'm freekin' stuffed!

Posted by: Marcus Aurelius | Nov 22, 2007 7:57:12 PM

The dollar is plunging again tonight.

Posted by: touche | Nov 22, 2007 9:10:28 PM

from Thomson:

"Sydney November 23. In thin holiday markets a few large players have targeted the USD and various option barriers, but the move has gained momentum on stops and thin liquidity... This is very strange timing for a real USD move and could be the final impulsive downward extension in the USD, before a significant correction. We will know by the close in NY tonight, meantime the next major resistance comes in at 1.5000. ..."

Posted by: mhm | Nov 22, 2007 9:58:14 PM

I always look for the bright side. USD is is doing very well against the Zimbabwe Dollar.

Posted by: The Dirty Mac | Nov 22, 2007 10:12:22 PM

Barry,
On Thanksgiving Day, during the Korean War, with bitter cold winds at their backs, there was a massive attack by Chinese troops(dollar) that caught the Americans unprepared. Beware of their hidden attacts on the dollar.

“Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides, Who covert faults at last with shame derides”
William Shakespeare

Posted by: David | Nov 22, 2007 10:41:51 PM

You guys are on a holiday while the CHF, JPY, Euro just having a wild ride against USD...have fun...
And BR, thanks for writing all that you write. These are indeed very interesting times.
Happy Thanksgiving.

Posted by: pj | Nov 22, 2007 11:41:48 PM

And for you Watergate fans, what else lasts 18 minutes and 20 seconds?

Don't neglect Arlo's remake album either.

Posted by: Amos Newcombe | Nov 22, 2007 11:44:53 PM

Kid ! ... theres also a movie "Alice's Restaurant" . Saw it at the Drive In theater many yarns ago . As I recall it was not that good , but I was about 16 at the time so was probably preoccupied .. Drive Ins , girls , you know . Officer Opie would be proud .
Hope all had a great Holiday .

Bill

Posted by: Bill | Nov 23, 2007 5:11:08 AM