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Seven days of questions and answers

Thanksgiving Trivia Answers Archive

Review earlier daily rounds, reveal the correct answer, and use the short explanation to learn the fact behind each question. Page 3 of 12 covers seven completed UTC days.

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Daily round

  1. Which type of potato is generally preferred for making fluffy mashed potatoes?

    Answer: Russet potatoes

    Russet (also called baking) potatoes have high starch content and low moisture, which allows them to break down into a light, fluffy texture when mashed, unlike waxy potatoes that hold their shape.

  2. What is a turducken?

    Answer: A turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken

    A turducken is a layered dish where a deboned chicken is placed inside a deboned duck, which is then placed inside a deboned turkey and roasted as one piece.

  3. The English harvest festival tradition that influenced North American Thanksgiving customs is most closely tied to which seasonal activity?

    Answer: Autumn crop gathering

    The English Harvest Home festival, celebrated at the conclusion of the autumn harvest, contributed many customs and themes that shaped Thanksgiving traditions in both the United States and Canada.

  4. Which New England state produces the majority of cranberries harvested in the United States for Thanksgiving consumption?

    Answer: Massachusetts

    Massachusetts is the leading cranberry-producing state and home to the Cape Cod region where cranberry bogs have been harvested for generations, supplying much of the fruit used at Thanksgiving.

  5. Squash varieties commonly used in Thanksgiving dishes such as pumpkin pie and butternut squash soup belong to which plant genus?

    Answer: Cucurbita

    Pumpkins, butternut squash, acorn squash, and other common Thanksgiving squashes belong to the genus Cucurbita, a group of vine-growing plants in the gourd family.

Daily round

  1. What is the difference between stock and broth when making Thanksgiving gravy?

    Answer: Stock is simmered with bones for a longer time and has a richer mouthfeel, while broth is made with meat and is lighter

    Stock is made by simmering bones (often roasted) for several hours, extracting collagen that gives it a fuller body when cooled, while broth is made with meat and has a lighter, more directly seasoned flavor.

  2. What is the largest float by dimension that has appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, introduced in the 2000s?

    Answer: Pikachu

    The Pikachu balloon, introduced to the Macy's parade, has been among the largest character balloons, reflecting the parade's tradition of featuring pop culture icons alongside classic figures.

  3. Which explorer's 1578 thanksgiving ceremony in the Canadian Arctic is considered one of the earliest recorded North American thanksgiving observances?

    Answer: Martin Frobisher

    Martin Frobisher held a thanksgiving ceremony on Baffin Island in 1578 after enduring a perilous search for the Northwest Passage, predating many other North American thanksgiving events.

  4. What is the traditional base ingredient of cornbread in Southern American cooking?

    Answer: Cornmeal, often with little or no wheat flour

    Traditional Southern cornbread is made primarily from cornmeal—often with buttermilk and little to no wheat flour—resulting in a denser, more intensely corn-flavored bread than Northern-style versions that use more wheat flour.

  5. Which fat is most commonly used in traditional flaky American pie crusts for Thanksgiving desserts?

    Answer: Butter or vegetable shortening

    American pie crusts rely on butter, vegetable shortening, or a combination of the two; the solid fat creates steam pockets during baking that separate the flour layers into a flaky texture.

Daily round

  1. What is a gravy separator designed to do?

    Answer: Remove fat from pan drippings by letting it rise to the top

    A gravy separator is a pitcher with a spout at its base; after resting, the fat rises to the top and the cook pours off the lean juices from the bottom, producing a less greasy gravy.

  2. Which autumn foliage pigment is responsible for the yellow and gold colors visible in maple and birch leaves during the Thanksgiving season?

    Answer: Carotenoid

    Carotenoids are the pigments that produce yellow, gold, and orange leaf colors in species like maples and birches during autumn, as they become unmasked when chlorophyll breaks down.

  3. Which Native American tribe historically cultivated the Three Sisters planting method of corn, beans, and squash together, a technique central to New England harvest traditions?

    Answer: Iroquois

    The Iroquois and other Haudenosaunee peoples developed the Three Sisters companion planting method, in which corn, beans, and squash support one another's growth in a single mound.

  4. What proportion of wild turkeys in North America were estimated to remain by the early 20th century before conservation efforts restored their populations?

    Answer: Around 30%

    Wild turkey populations had declined to roughly 30,000 birds, about 30% of their original estimated range, by the early 1900s before habitat restoration and regulated hunting brought them back to millions.

  5. According to primary source accounts, approximately how many Wampanoag guests attended the 1621 Plymouth harvest gathering?

    Answer: About 90

    Edward Winslow's firsthand account describes approximately 90 Wampanoag men, including their leader Massasoit, joining the colonists for the multi-day feast.

Daily round

  1. Why is it recommended to let a roasted turkey rest for 20 to 30 minutes before carving?

    Answer: To let the juices redistribute evenly throughout the meat fibers

    Resting gives the meat fibers time to relax and reabsorb the internal juices that were driven toward the center during cooking, resulting in moister slices when carved.

  2. In the United States, the tradition of a presidential proclamation setting a specific date for Thanksgiving was established by which president?

    Answer: Abraham Lincoln

    Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation in 1863, during the Civil War, establishing the last Thursday of November as a national day of Thanksgiving, partly influenced by Sarah Josepha Hale's decades of advocacy.

  3. Homaro Cantu, a Chicago-based chef, gained attention for making a Thanksgiving turkey dish from what unconventional source?

    Answer: Insects

    Chef Homaro Cantu experimented with creating turkey-flavored dishes from insects like grasshoppers as part of his innovative approach to sustainable and alternative protein sources.

  4. What is the traditional name for the horn-shaped basket filled with fruits, vegetables, and grains that is a common symbol of the Thanksgiving harvest?

    Answer: Cornucopia

    The cornucopia, also called the horn of plenty, is a classical symbol of abundance and nourishment traditionally depicted overflowing with the season's produce.

  5. What minimum internal temperature should a whole turkey reach to be considered safely cooked?

    Answer: 165°F (74°C)

    The USDA advises that poultry must reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) as measured with a food thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, wing, and breast.

Daily round

  1. In the American South, which dish combining cornmeal and a liquid, often served alongside Thanksgiving meals, is known by the term 'cornbread dressing'?

    Answer: A baked stuffing made with cornbread

    Cornbread dressing is a Southern-style stuffing made with crumbled cornbread as the base instead of bread cubes, popular at Thanksgiving tables across the American South.

  2. Which U.S. president first formally pardoned a Thanksgiving turkey by officially sparing it from the dinner table?

    Answer: George H. W. Bush

    Although Abraham Lincoln is said to have informally spared a turkey, George H. W. Bush was the first president to issue an official formal pardon of a Thanksgiving turkey in 1989.

  3. Which grain, commonly associated with harvest meals, was a dietary staple of the Wampanoag people long before European settlers arrived in New England?

    Answer: Corn

    Corn was a foundational crop for the Wampanoag and other Indigenous peoples of the Northeast, cultivated for food and used in numerous traditional dishes well before the arrival of European colonists.

  4. What is the approximate number of pumpkins grown in the United States each year for the autumn harvest season, including those used for Thanksgiving pies and decorations?

    Answer: Around 1 billion

    The United States produces roughly 1 billion pounds of pumpkins annually, with the vast majority harvested in the autumn for use in cooking, decorating, and Thanksgiving celebrations.

  5. What is the most commonly served side dish at American Thanksgiving dinner tables, according to multiple consumer surveys?

    Answer: Mashed potatoes

    Mashed potatoes consistently rank as the most popular Thanksgiving side dish across numerous consumer surveys, appearing on the vast majority of American Thanksgiving tables.

Daily round

  1. In which New England state is the town of Plymouth, a common historical reference point in American Thanksgiving narratives, located?

    Answer: Massachusetts

    Plymouth, Massachusetts, was the site of the 1620 Pilgrim settlement and is referenced in many American Thanksgiving traditions, including Plymouth Rock as a symbolic landing spot.

  2. Which Thanksgiving parade, held in a major Midwestern city, features giant character balloons, floats, and marching bands and is broadcast nationally each year?

    Answer: Chicago Thanksgiving Parade

    The Chicago Thanksgiving Parade, first held in 1934 and now called the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade, is one of the largest Thanksgiving parades in the United States, broadcast nationally each year.

  3. What safety concern is most commonly associated with outdoor turkey fryers?

    Answer: The high volume of hot oil can overflow and ignite if the turkey is wet

    When a partially frozen or wet turkey is lowered into hot oil, the water rapidly vaporizes and expands, causing the oil to boil over and potentially ignite, leading to severe burns and structure fires.

  4. At the first NFL Thanksgiving game in 1934, which team defeated the Chicago Bears in a matchup hosted by the Detroit Lions?

    Answer: Detroit Lions

    The Detroit Lions won their first Thanksgiving Day football game on November 22, 1934, defeating the Chicago Bears 19-16 before a sold-out crowd at the University of Detroit Stadium.

  5. Which sport became widely associated with Thanksgiving Day in the United States beginning in the 1920s?

    Answer: College football

    College football games on Thanksgiving Day became a widespread American tradition by the 1920s, well before the NFL began its own annual Thanksgiving matchups in 1934.

Daily round

  1. In what year did the Canadian Parliament fix Thanksgiving to its current position on the second Monday of October?

    Answer: 1957

    On January 31, 1957, the Canadian Parliament proclaimed that Thanksgiving would be observed annually on the second Monday of October, where it has remained ever since.

  2. Which of the following Canadian provinces does NOT recognize Thanksgiving as a statutory holiday?

    Answer: Nova Scotia

    Nova Scotia, along with New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, does not designate Thanksgiving as a statutory holiday, although many employers choose to observe it.

  3. In which European country is Erntedankfest, a harvest thanksgiving festival with church services, parades, and harvest displays, traditionally celebrated?

    Answer: Germany

    Erntedankfest is a traditional German harvest thanksgiving festival, typically observed in October with church services, processions, and displays of the season's crops.

  4. Which autumn phenomenon causes the green pigment in leaves to break down and reveal the yellow, orange, and red pigments beneath?

    Answer: Decreasing day length and cooler temperatures

    Shorter days and cooler autumn temperatures trigger the breakdown of chlorophyll in leaves, allowing underlying carotenoid and anthocyanin pigments to become visible.

  5. What type of harvest method is traditionally used for commercial cranberries?

    Answer: Wet harvesting by flooding bogs and floating the berries

    Most commercial cranberries are harvested by flooding the bogs, where air pockets inside the berries cause them to float, allowing them to be corralled and collected from the water surface.