Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Let’s talk turkey shall we?
How about 271 million turkeys for starters? That’s the number of turkeys that were raised in the U.S. since last Turkey Day, according to the Census Bureau, the keeper of all fun facts. According to Census the average American consumes 13.3 pounds annually.
Here’s what else Census has to say about other Thanksgiving eats:
- The U.S. cranberry industry produced 689 million pounds of cranberries this year, up 5 percent from last year. And surprise, Wisconsin, not Massachusetts, leads the nation in cranberry production.
- Approximately 1.8 million pounds of sweet potatoes were harvested in 2007. (Bonus: Per capita sweet potato consumption is 4.6 pounds).
- A total of 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins were produced for all those pies we’ll be consuming.
- And finally: 769,760 tons of green beans were harvested this year, perfect for those casseroles.
Bonus fun fact: TSA says you can bring your pumpkin (or other flavor)Â pie as a carry on for your holiday flights, provided you agree to put it through the x-ray machine. Apparently pie is neither liquid nor gel, just 100 percent solid yummy goodness.
