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Editor's note
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As you dig into your Thanksgiving meal, chances are you won’t be eating what the Pilgrims and Natives ate. According to Wayne State food anthropologist Julie Lesnik, there’s only one account of the first Thanksgiving meal, and it mentions a hunting expedition to gather “waterfowl” (duck). She also explains why it wouldn’t have been possible for favorites like pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes to have made an appearance.
So how did turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie become synonymous with Thanksgiving? Marketing professor Samantha Cross points to the big role advertising campaigns played in the late-19th and early-20th centuries.
And remember that story about the molecule found in turkey that makes you drowsy? As Penn State’s Kevin Bennett explains, research show it’s a myth – although tryptophan may be connected to cooperation.
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Nick Lehr
Arts + Culture Editor
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Top stories
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Waterfowl – not turkey – would have been the main course.
Winslow Homer, 'Right and Left' (1909), National Gallery of Art
Julie Lesnik, Wayne State University
Dishes we consider staples today have little to do with the first feast.
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Libby’s continues to fiercely compete with pumpkin pie peddlers Borden’s, Snowdrift and Mrs. Smith’s for a place on the Thanksgiving table.
Jean Beaufort
Samantha N. N. Cross, Iowa State University
At one point, turkey was jockeying with duck and chicken for king of the Thanksgiving table.
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Don’t blame the turkey for those snores coming from the living room!
Shannon Jordan/Shutterstock.com
Kevin Bennett, Pennsylvania State University
Remember that story about the molecule found in turkey that makes you drowsy? Research shows it's a myth – tryptophan doesn't cause you to nod off, but it may be connected to cooperation.
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Environment + Energy
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Michael Carolan, Colorado State University
The fate of turkey tails shows how Americans have shifted from eating whole animals to focusing on choice cuts – and the surprising places where unwanted parts end up.
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Gabriella M Petrick, University of New Haven
When you enjoy the delicious, savory foods of Thanksgiving, you're experiencing umami, the fifth taste, with a little-known history rooted in Japan.
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Ethics + Religion
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Michael Foley, Baylor University
For those wondering whether it is sinful to drink, even moderately, a scholar goes into the history of alcohol and its distillation to show how early monks and priests contributed to it.
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Tobin Miller Shearer, The University of Montana
The presidential turkey pardoning draws on a language of forgiveness common to many religious traditions.
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Science + Technology
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Barbara Fiese, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Anne Fishel, Harvard Medical School ; Bill Doherty, University of Minnesota; Janine Roberts, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Our panel discusses the benefits of gathering for an annual holiday meal. Traditions and rituals give us a sense of identity and closeness with those we love – and come with mental and physical health benefits too.
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Politics + Society
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Andrew J. Hoffman, University of Michigan
Many are dreading meeting relatives for Thanksgiving after Donald Trump's surprise victory. A student of the cultural divide around climate change offers tips for opening dialogues on politics.
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Stacy Branham, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
After such a difficult political experience, empathy is the key not only to feeling connected, but feeling understood – and understanding others.
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Economy + Business
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Jay L. Zagorsky, The Ohio State University
Economic theory suggests when demand goes up, so does the price, but oddly, it doesn't for turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving.
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Arts + Culture
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Peter C. Mancall, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The Pilgrims were thankful for finally being able to vanquish Thomas Morton and Ferdinando Gorges, who spent years trying to undermine the legal basis for settlements in Massachusetts and beyond.
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