The ‘ol tom turkey

Turkey time is here!

Turkeys sometimes get a bad rap, but they have figured prominently in American history.

Did you know that Benjamin Franklin supposedly wanted the turkey to be a national symbol of the United States, but Thomas Jefferson opposed him? It is believed that Franklin went on to name the male turkey “tom” to spite Jefferson.

Is this just another bit of tomfoolery? Not sure, but this fact is true:

The turkey pardon became an officially sanctioned White House event by George H.W. Bush in 1989.

“Let me assure you and this fine tom turkey,” Bush said, “that he will not end up on anyone's dinner table, not this guy — he’s presented a presidential pardon as of right now — which will allow him to live out his days on a children’s farm not far from here.”

Turkeys do still show up on the vast majority of dinner tables on Thanksgiving. Wild turkeys are also on the rise.

🦃 Michigan's wild turkey population has rebounded from extinction in 1900 to an estimated 200,000 birds today, and are found in all parts of the state

🦃 Turkeys can run up to 25 miles per hour and fly as fast as 55 miles per hour 

🦃 Turkeys are among the largest and heaviest of birds

🦃 The male turkeys (toms), gobble, while females (hens) yelp and cluck

🦃 Turkey tail mushrooms with their fan-shaped, multicolored caps with concentric rings of brown and orange, grow year-round in Michigan on dead hardwood logs

Hope you enjoy a turkey in some form this week. Happy Thanksgiving!