5 Things to Be Thankful for This Thanksgiving

How your turkey was prepared, for one
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 28, 2013 6:57 AM CST
Updated Nov 28, 2013 8:53 AM CST
5 Things to Be Thankful for This Thanksgiving
And a 6th thing to be thankful for: Pecan pie!   (©)

As you go around the table and express what you're thankful for this year, the regular suspects—your family, good health, the Red Sox's World Series win—will likely make the list. Here are 5 Thanksgiving-specific things to be thankful for that you may not have thought of:

  1. You Aren't Eating Irradiated Turkey for Dinner: Just because they're about 200 miles above Earth doesn't mean that the two US astronauts aboard the International Space Station won't be able to dig in to a traditional Thanksgiving meal today ... except theirs will be an irradiated, thermostabilized, and freeze-dried one. Here's what they're dining on.
  2. The Dinner You Are Eating Is a Little Cheaper This Year: Thanksgiving dinner will cost you a little less this year compared to 2012, according to a 34-state survey from the American Farm Bureau Federation. It determined what a 10-person feast with turkey and all the trimmings—including stuffing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and more—will clock in at.

  1. Turkey's Tryptophan Is Not the Enemy!: Contrary to what you learned while watching Seinfeld, the turkey you're about to eat today is not the true reason why you're bound to crave a nap after dinner. Yes, there is tryptophan in it, but no, that's not the main culprit behind your desire to snooze.
  2. There Are 3 States Where Black Thursday Is Banned: No getting up from the dinner table early in Rhode Island, Maine, or Massachusetts to do some Thanksgiving Day shopping—thanks to "blue laws" that date back to colonial times.
  3. And There Are a Few Americans Who Have Taken a Black Thursday Stand: The owner of a Sears Hometown store in Plymouth, New Hampshire, has rejected the head office's order to open at 7pm tonight, so that her employees can spend the holiday with their families—though says she has been told she will lose her bonus for the rest of the year as a result. And then there's this Pizza Hut general manager...
Click for more Thanksgiving news. (More Thanksgiving stories.)

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