Fun Facts About Thanksgiving

by Ysolt Usigan

From calorie counts to total cans of cranberry sauce consumed (answer: a lot!), these fun facts will surprise you.

How many calories will you consume on Thanksgiving?1. Your T-giving meal in calories: It's common knowledge that people consume more calories on Thanksgiving than any other day of the year, but did you know that the average American's holiday meal packs more than 1600 calories? This infographic by Visual.ly will help you keep things in check while still enjoying your favorite Turkey Day dishes.

Click here to see the full infographic.

Photo credit: Visual.ly





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How many cans of cranberry sauce do people purchase for Thanksgiving?2. Thanks trivia: This FreshDirect infographic gives us a glimpse into how the grocery chain operates as it relates to your Thanksgiving meal. For instance, if you stacked up all the cans of cranberry sauce customers bought from FreshDirect alone, it would stand twice as tall as the Empire State Building. It's amazing how much we consume during the holiday season, and for that matter, every day, isn't it?

Click here to see the full infographic.

Photo credit: FreshDirect.com






How has Thanksgiving changed throughout the years?3. Thanksgiving facts and figures: We can always count on Mint.com to give us must-know facts and figures. Their infographic on turkey taught us the history of Thanksgiving, plus which states the most pumpkins, turkeys, cranberries, sweet potatoes, and green beans that Americans consume come from.

Click here to see the full infographic.

Photo: Mint.com








Not a fan of turkey? Try these alternatives. 4. Thanksgiving ideas: Not set on your Thanksgiving plans? This infographic from Overstock.com gives us new alternatives to the traditional turkey: deep fried (but keep in mind there are important safety tips to note because there is a large margin of error and fire here), the turducken (which means you layer turkey, duck, and chicken to make one massive dish), and of course, tofurkey.

Click here to see the full infographic.

Photo credit: Overstock.com





RELATED: 6 Savory Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers



Turkey and travel: How do the facts stack up?5. Turkey and travel: According to this infographic from Nationwide Bank, the first Thanksgiving ever was in 1621. What was on the menu? Wild goose or duck, wild turkey, deer, flint corn, fish, shellfish, and eel-pretty different from today's traditional feast of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, and corn. We also learned that you can no longer blame tryptophan for your turkey coma. As it turns out, other meats also contain comparable levels of it. All those carbs are what truly makes you tired!

Click here to see the full infographic.

Photo credit: Nationwide Bank


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