Five Weird Things We Bet You Didn’t Know About Thanksgiving

As we get ready for the Thanksgiving holiday and pound our digestive systems with food, and nerves with relatives we sometimes see only once a year (sometimes for good reason) here's a few facts we bet you didn't know about the Holiday.

Thanksgiving Used To Look Like Halloween

According to historical records, including images from the Library of Congress, people used to dress up in costumes much like Halloween and have Costume Crawls all over town. Often children dressed up as poor kids, so much so it was often called Ragamuffin Day in New York City.

The Macy's Day Parade Balloons Were Let Go At The End of the Parade

Up until 1932, the famous balloons seen in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade were just "let go" and allowed to drift off into the sky!  The store offered a $50 reward for returned balloons, but most of them exploded or burst once they cleared the skyline and got to higher altitudes.

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Turkey Doesn't Actually Make You Tired

Due to tryptophan, a chemical found in turkey, is often credited with why people feel tired and sluggish after dinner. Medical experts say there's no more tryptophan than in other foods, it's more because of all the carbs and calories you've eaten that make you sluggish.

Thanksgiving Day was Changed as a Retail Stunt

The observance of Thanksgiving was changed in 1941 to the fourth Thursday in November by President Roosevelt as a ploy to encourage more weekend holiday shopping. He has not saluted for this stunt, some compared him to Hitler for changing holidays.

Why is there Football on Thanksgiving Day?

The Detroit Lions used to be (a long time ago) a much better NFL team. In 1934, as a ploy by the then-fledgling NFL to get more fans to games. It was established that the Lions would always play on Thanksgiving Day and they have been doing it ever since. Regardless of good or bad, they're always on TV.  The Cowboys were added to the day in 1966.

So, now you know more about the holiday!