the bird on fire

The Bird is the Word: Sophisticated Schoolyard Shenanigans

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Thanksgiving Special: Curious Customs

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By Renée  

 

As Thanksgiving came and went along with Black Friday’s mindless shopping sprees and the eating of unhealthy portions, I mulled over the peculiarities of U.S. traditions. I was born in Mexico. And, in my foreigner’s curiosity, I decided to research other curious customs of the U.S. Here is my top 10 list of curious U.S. customs (along with my very helpful commentary). Enjoy.

 

Curious Customs from America

 

  1. The Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival in Delaware. It is exactly what it sounds like…
  2. The National Hollerin’ Contest in North Carolina. Why?
  3. Tailgating Football Games. I’m not exactly sure why you would really want to wait outside a stadium during a game. You can’t see it.
  4. Pumpkin Pie Martinis. Why does all non-pumpkin pumpkin flavored stuff exist?
  5. Roadkill Cook-Off, West Virginia. Okay, kinda interesting, but I am conflicted.
  6. Cherry Pit Spitting, Michigan. Eww. No, nope. No.
  7. Black Friday Shopping Sprees. Groups of people running over other groups of people for stuff, *chuckle* no.
  8. Pardoning the Thanksgiving Turkey. Like a ceremony for telling a turkey that you’re not going to eat it.
  9. Choosing the Imperial System–It’s just dumb and inefficient and impractical, especially now that there is the far superior Metric System.
  10. Thanksgiving. It’s strange. Seriously. Cranberry in cans, turkey slaughter, Black Friday pseudo holiday, questionable origin story. Nope.

 

Editor: Brennan Nick

Turkey Is Not Turkey In Turkey

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–by Amber Zheng

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Thanksgiving is coming. Grandma is buying her turkey for the onslaught of visiting family. Watch out. Food Correspondent Amber Zheng finds Turkey isn’t always Turkey.
Turkey is an extremely common food source and even has its own holiday in the U.S. However, this majestic bird is also an enigmatic creature. Depending on what country you are in, the turkey has many different names.

In Turkey, it’s called Hindi, which means North Indian.
In India, it’s called Peru.

In Arabia, it’s called Greek Chicken.
In Greece, it’s called French Chicken.
In France, it’s called Indian Chicken.
In Xinjiang, it’s called Afghanistan Chicken.

In Afghanistan, it’s called Elephant Chicken.

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These are just a few of the plethora of turkey names. If you are interested in looking at others, please check out an article called “List of Names for Turkeys” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_names_for_turkeys#From_geographic_names.IMG_1888

And, don’t stop with turkeys. Check out the side dishes. Peas are called Dutch Peas in China, but in Holland they are called Chinese Peas. And, sweet potatoes . . . .

 

–edited by Chloe Sweeney