This Thanksgiving, Say No to Green Beans

Men apparently dig the scent, say researchers

(NEWSER) - From the scientists-with-too-much-time-on-their-hands department: They subjected men to various scents and concluded that the smell of pumpkin pie is the one that gets them in the mood most effectively. Or in researcher-speak: "The number one odor that enhanced penile blood flow was a combination of lavender and pumpkin pie." For Thanksgiving purposes, vanilla and strawberry also did well, but cranberry barely registered. One important caveat: "Every odor we tested aroused the participants." (Emphasis ours.) See Lemondrop and WPBF in Florida for more details. More»

Exercise 12 hours before eating lessens spike in dangerous fats

(NEWSER) - The best time to walk off a gut-busting Thanksgiving dinner is at least 12 hours before you eat it, researchers say. Studies have found that light exercise, like a half-hour walk, done 12 to 16 hours before a big meal significantly reduces the post-meal spike in a type of fat called triglycerides, the Wall Street Journal reports. Triglycerides penetrate arterial walls easily and elevated levels of them have been linked to a much higher heart attack risk. More»

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»

Plates used by a king, and a 19-pound turducken

(NEWSER) - Hosting Thanksgiving dinner for 10 this year will set you back about $49.20 , a tab that's 13% more expensive than that of 2010. But when it comes to truly expensive holiday meals, that one pales in comparison to the one dreamed up by BankRate.com . Travers Korch looks for the most expensive ingredients possible—and they really add up:

• You can't even think about the turkey without considering what to eat it with. One option: Tuttle Silver's Continental dinner set, a 66-utensil collection that costs $25,200.

Hosting 10? Get ready to pay $49.20

(NEWSER) - This Thanksgiving, stuffing yourself requires you empty your wallet a little bit more. The tab for feeding turkey and all the fixings to a group of 10 has surged 13% to $49.20, the American Farm Bureau Federation finds. Last year, it was $43.37. The AFBF included everything from turkey to pumpkin pie mix to cranberries to sweet potatoes in its estimate, and notes those items all grew more expensive this year, Time reports: A 16-pound turkey will set you back about $21.57, or $3.91 more than last year. More»