Your Turkey May Have Feasted on ... Arsenic

Calm down, it's just a doll

(NEWSER) - Thanksgiving might just be PETA’s least favorite holiday , and to air their disapproval this year, activists served “baby” for Thanksgiving dinner at displays in Philadelphia and Baltimore. They set up a Thanksgiving spread on a sidewalk, the group’s media coordinator explains to the Los Angeles Times , except instead of a turkey there’s a “baby in the middle” of the table, he says. Of course, it’s just a doll. More»

How to thaw your turkey while bathing your kids

(NEWSER) - Nervous about cooking the Thanksgiving bird? Don't be. Butterball employs more than 50 Turkey Talk-Line experts who are ready and waiting to answer your culinary questions. And don't be embarrassed: Your inquiry can't be as embarrassing as these previous ones to be phoned in to 1-800-BUTTERBALL , as reported by Reuters :

• Can I thaw my turkey in my bathtub ... while I give my kids a bath?
• Is it OK to brine my turkey ... in a washing machine?

Birds will head to George Washington's estate

(AP) - It's official: President Obama has pardoned the National Thanksgiving Turkey. Continuing a decades-old White House tradition, Obama issued pardons today to a gobbler named "Apple" and its alternate, “Cider.” The two 21-week-old, 45-pound turkeys were raised on a California farm. Obama said it “feels pretty good to stop at least one shellacking this November.” More»

Colbert gives Stewart a cookery lesson

(NEWSER) - The bad news for turkeys meeting Martha Stewart is that she'll kill you with her bare hands. The good news is that she'll get you drunk first. The celebrity cookbook author, appearing on Stephen Colbert's Colbert Report , told the host that she treats the birds to airline-sized mini-bottles of cognac or bourbon before dispatching them. Colbert then taught Stewart how to make a few hors d'oeuvres, including Wonder Bread with mayonnaise spread on it and topped with Kool-Aid mix. More»

Commercial, intended for Macy's parade, has no disturbing images

(NEWSER) - This is the ad PETA wanted to run during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but NBC shot them down, saying it “does not meet NBC Universal Standards.” As you can see in the video, there’s nary an offensive image, just a little girl describing the horrors of factory farming ("Dear God, special thanks for all the chemicals, and dirt, and poop that's in the turkey we're about to eat")—something NBC might not have wanted to interrupt its Turkey Day festivities with. More»