America’s favorite bird, the turkey, has a lot more to it than just being the main course at Thanksgiving dinner.

When you get together with your family and friends this year to give thanks, test your knowledge of this beloved (and tasty) bird.

1. What is the Native American name for the turkey?

2. How many turkeys are cooked every Thanksgiving in the U.S.?

3. How fast can a turkey run?

4. What did Benjamin Franklin think about the Thanksgiving bird?

5. Why should turkeys not look up when it begins to rain?

6. How are turkey hearts and human hearts similar?

7. Do we eat wild turkeys or domestic turkeys during Thanksgiving? Why?

8. How are peacocks and turkeys similar?

9. What are baby turkeys known as?

10. Approximately how many pounds of turkey meat are consumed each year by the 95 percent of Americans who follow this holiday tradition?

SPOILER ALERT!
Answers on the next page...

Answers:

1. Firkee. Some people also believe this is how turkeys got their name.
 
2. Approximately 45 million.
 
3. A spooked bird can run up to 20 miles per hour.
 
4. He believed the wild turkey should be the national bird of the U.S., not the bald eagle.
 
5. They could potentially drown.
 
6. We can both have heart attacks and potentially drop dead.
 
7. The domesticated turkey; they are usually double the weight of a wild turkey – so heavy they cannot fly.
 
8. The males spread out their fancy tail feathers and puff up their bodies to attract as many females as possible in the springtime.
 
9. Poults
 
10. Approximately 675 million pounds of turkey meat.