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It’s turkey time again!

Have you ever asked yourself how the turkey became the most popular meat to serve at a Thanksgiving dinner? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the U.S. on this holiday.

Letters and records kept by early American settlers tell us how the colonists sat down to dine with the Wampanoag Indians on a meal of beef and fowl, a meal later known as the first Thanksgiving. Yet historians cannot say for sure which type of fowl was served. A letter written by pilgrim Edward Winslow mentions a turkey hunting trip that took place before that meal.

Another theory attributes the Thanksgiving turkey to the Queen of England. While eating dinner she was so thrilled to learn of the sinking of the Spanish Fleet, which was on its way to attack England, that she ordered another goose to be served. The early settlers were inspired by her actions so they roasted a turkey instead.

Whichever theory one chooses to believe, it is a known fact tha...

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