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Are you smarter than a turkey?

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Congratulations to Bertha Chambers for winning the Turkey Quiz drawing for a $10 Amazon gift card.

Congratulations to “Laurie”, the winner of the Turkey Trot Blog Hop grand prize, $50 Amazon gift card.

 

Answers to the Turkey Trot Quiz below.

Note: there are different answers depending on who you ask, so I don’t stand by any of them. Like I said, not for a grade. 😉

 

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The winners of the other blog contests will be posted on their pages.

Thank you to everyone who participated and answered the quiz. I LOVED your answers. Some of you should consider writing comedy.

 

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37 Comments

  1. Susan P

    Fun quiz! My answers: Indians, yes, 50 mph, the tribe that Squanto was in, no clue, no idea, TRUE, I don’t remember, um…180degrees? LOL. Obviously, I did not look any of these up. 😉
    lattebooksAThotmailDotcom

    • EEBurke

      Don’t look up! Please, don’t look up! (Oh, wait. It’s only turkeys that have to be worried about that…never mind.)

  2. Joye

    Thanks for the giveaway and the interesting questions. I think I will ask some at our big dinner. Should get a bunch of different answers especially about the beer.
    My Grandfather raised turkeys so I know the answer to most of these questions.

    • EEBurke

      You’ll have to settle the disagreements later, then. I’m sure we’ll have diverse opinions/facts. 😉

  3. Bertha Chambers

    1. If a Puritan account of the event is to be believed, there were more Wampanoag people than Puritan colonists.

    2. Yes.

    3. According to the National Wildlife Federation, startled wild turkeys typically attempt to fly away or gather together in safer numbers. They can though run up to 25 miles per hour.

    4. The Wampanoag

    5. According to the White House Historical Association, it depends on whether you mean the act or the word. Lincoln gave into his son’s request to not kill one. Other presidents decided to not kill turkeys at different times for different reasons, but not as an official pardon. The tradition of official pardoning didn’t take place until 1989 under President George H.W. Bush b/c of protests by animal rights activists.

    6. The same reason that a “Tom” cat is male. “Tom” is often used to describe certain male animals.

    7. Snopes has this marked as false. I’m saying maybe. This idea is usually brought up to describe the supposed stupidity of domesticated turkeys. Turkeys have no reason to flood their beaks with water in that way. Turkeys do look at things at times with their beaks up and heads tilted b/c they do not have the same type of vision as humans. Even then, the only time a turkey might get stuck with water pounding down onto its beak, without the assistance of an external source, is if it has a particular type of inherited condition called tetanic torticollar spasms and the storm is flooding the beak with rain water. Research (http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/content/72/7/1212.abstract) suggests that the heads of turkeys that experience this condition fall backwards for as long as a minute. That said, I’m still not entirely sure that this condition would cause a turkey to drown if stuck that way in a hard rain.

    8. Abraham Lincoln.

    9. Turkeys have monocular vision. According to Scientific American, they can see 270 degrees without re-positioning their heads. When they rotate only their heads, the visual field expands to 360 degrees.

    • EEBurke

      Wow, Bertha. I must admit not going to nearly that level of fact-checking before posting this quiz. I feel like a turkey.

  4. C_Patterson

    Indians
    They probably wished they would have if they didn’t
    Faster than a non-spooked turkey
    Wampanoag
    A turkey like the bird or the sitting president before him?
    Because it sounds better than Bob turkey
    A turkey can’t look up to anything since they have built in binoculars
    Honest Abe who loved himself a good drumstick according to rumors
    I don’t know – do you want Celsius or Fahrenheit?

    • EEBurke

      ROFL

    • VERA MALLARD

      i love your answers, what a hoot!

    • Ruth Ann Nordin

      I agree! This was hilarious!

    • Kathryn Albright

      Too funny!

  5. VERA MALLARD

    Wampanoag tribe
    NO
    FAST, I HAD A TURKEY he ran fast when he wanted to; 25 short burst, clocked at 55
    Wampanoag
    George H. W. Bush
    TOM used for the male since the anonymous work The Life and Adventures of a Cat (1760) described the adventures of “Tom the Cat,The name “Tom turkey” has been cited in print since at least 1848 and 1851.
    NO
    President George Washington named Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a “Day of Publick Thanksgivin”
    360 degrees

  6. EEBurke

    A turkey went 55 mph? Did he get a speeding ticket? 😉

  7. Caroline Clemmons

    Elizabeth, my mom raised turkeys to earn enough money to go to beauty school. She said that turkeys are stupid enough to drown because they stand with their mouths open and look up at the rain. She was NOT a fan of turkeys after her experience.

    • EEBurke

      That’s hilarious. There is quite the division of opinion on that question. (Kind of like our presidential race.) Some say, True, turkeys will do that. Others say, No, they can’t be that stupid. Sounds like your mother dealt with the stupid variety!

  8. Dee Foster

    My brain is too old and tired to try to remember any of that!! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

  9. Valeri Dedich

    Wow. I have to say that I wouldn’t know have of the answers. I feel like a loser. Lol but happy thanksgiving everyone! Valeri9354@yahoo.com.

    • EEBurke

      Valeri, I didn’t know all the answers either. But I’m still smarter than a turkey. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!

  10. Sherry S.

    Indians, if they didn’t they should have, not sure but faster than me. Wampanoag, George W. Bush, not sure, true, Lincoln and not a clue.
    sstrode at scrtc dot com

  11. Becky Bowen

    Love this

  12. laurie

    Indians
    They probably wished they would have if they didn’t
    Faster than a non-spooked turkey
    Wampanoag
    A turkey like the bird or the sitting president before him?
    Because it sounds better than Bob turkey
    A turkey can’t look up to anything since they have built in binoculars
    Honest Abe who loved himself a good drumstick according to rumors
    and not sure

  13. Kelly Snyder

    1. Indians
    2. Yes
    3. Up to 25 mph
    4.Wampanoag
    5. Lincoln unofficially then George H W Bush officially
    6. Tom is a common name used for male animals
    7. I say maybe because that can stare at things for long periods of time
    8. Abraham Lincoln
    9. 270

    kellysnyder588@gmail.com

  14. Katherine Bone

    Wishing you a very blessed and Happy Thanksgiving, E.E.!!! 😉

  15. Kathleen Rice Adams

    It’s embarrassing to admit one is not smarter than a turkey, but here goes:

    1. We’re assuming either side enjoyed the meal. Personally, I think the first Thanksgiving also was the site of the first Thanksgiving family drama.

    2. Yes, but they left most of it in the ocean.

    3. Turkeys have two speeds: off and on. “On” is much faster than “off.”

    4. The Half-Naked Savage People. They’ve been inspiring romance authors ever since.

    5. Allegedly, Lincoln. However, Kennedy usually is given credit. Interesting coincidence: Conspiracy theorists recently claimed to find indisputable evidence that a turkey was present both in Ford’s Theatre and on the grassy knoll. That’s gratitude for ya.

    6. That goes back to the earliest days of romance writing. The author’s editor advised her to replace the turkey’s effeminate moniker with something more masculine. (To this day, readers still happen upon an “Ashley” that wasn’t caught before the book’s publication.)

    7. So can some people. Just sayin’.

    8. Lincoln. Apparently, the man had an unhealthy fascination with turkeys and family drama.

    9. As opposed to the number of degrees it can see with its feet?

    Happy Thanksgiving, Elisabeth! Hope you and yours stuff yourselves to the gills. Try to avoid the family drama, though. That never ends well. 😉

  16. Marci

    Thank you very much

  17. Bonnie Seavey

    1. More Natives than Pilgrims.
    2. yes (hops)
    3. 2 miles an hour?
    4. Wampanoag
    5. George W. Bush is the rumor
    6. Tom has been used in reference to “wild” cats for centuries, so why not a
    turkey?
    7. yes, turkeys can drown if they look up in the rain hence the reason they
    don’t.
    8. Honest Abe thought it would be a healing holiday after the Civil War
    9. 180 degrees…..guessing since their eyes face forward they can’t see 360..

  18. Bonnie Seavey

    I enjoyed the contest about the Turkey history. I took it as tongue in cheek and had fun with it. I wish you all a safe, happy and love filled Thanksgiving Holiday.

  19. Diane Garland

    Great quiz! Let’s see…
    Indians, yes, 35mph, no idea, Roosevelt, no idea, true, Roosevelt, 360.

    I hope I got at least one of those correct. LOL

  20. Rachael Clemons

    1. Pilgrims, 2. Yes. 3. Really fast 5 miles per hour, 4. Wampanoag Nation 5. George Washington, 6. The same reason a male cat is called a Tom, 7. No they can’t drown from looking up. 8. George Washington, 9. 90. rc12d@yahoo.com

  21. Ruth Ann Nordin

    I had no idea I knew so little about turkeys or Thanksgiving. My mom told me turkeys can drown if they look up. I have no idea if she was right or not. As I’m going through the comments, it looks like the verdict is mixed.

    No need to enter me in the giveaway. I just wanted to stop by and say hi since I’m participating in the Turkey Trot Blog Hop. 🙂

  22. Kathryn Albright

    My mother-in-law had a job when very young plucking chickens and turkeys. She hated working with turkeys –just said they are dumb. Still feels that way 🙂 Loved reading your post! Just popped in to say hi as I am part of the Blog Hop.

  23. CAthy Streimer

    Took LONG enough to figure out how to leave a message. PLus ran out of time, the battery went low BUT Here are the best READ you will read tonight.

    1. No one enjoyed the meal. Imagine what was eaten, how prepared and the weather.
    2. No beer but maybe the Indians introduced them to Corn ?Liquor.
    3. The stupid birds, don’t fly they run & usually in the wrong direction. One year at our farm (pure Texas) I went for a walk the day before hunting season (I don’t hunt or touch guns), saw a gaggle of turkeys ?. They heard my stepping on leaves ?. As scared as they were they turned around a few times and ran right into a wire fence. They looked at me, stopped ✋ , looked at me before running again. BUT They were smart enough to hide. No one shot. Turkey that year.
    4. Per Google, Wampanoag. Never learned that tribe at school.
    5. The 1st president to pardon a turkey was dump. Can you imagine what a turkey was thinking ? Another Google look up. Abraham Lincoln, must have gotten tired ? of shooting with the war between the states.
    6. Male turkeys ? were named by Dick and Harry. They were really mad ? at him that year and knew it was hunting season.
    7. False. Turkeys ? are too dump to look ? up.
    8. A smart ? president. He was reading for a day off and really angry ? at his wife. She had to spend hours cooking each year.
    9. Again, thank you ? Google. Good honest Abe. He had to get Mary busy for him to have free time to watch a parade and football.
    10. Start at 165 degrees, then he closes his eyes.
    Enjoy ? your holiday, family, and food. Thinking ? of y’all. Cathy =^..^=

  24. Monique Hall

    Probably Indians, yes, really fast, Wampanoag, JFK, no clue, true,I think it was Lincoln that made it a holiday but it was a later president that selected the day we celebrate now, thanks to the Kratt brothers I know this is 360 degrees

    Thanks that was fun! I have to ask my kids some of the questions and find out if they’re learning as much as me by watching Wild Kratts.

  25. Teresa G

    Indians, yes, really fast, george w. H. bush, don’t know, no, george Washington.

  26. Mary McCoy

    Ok here go some correct and many fanciful answers.
    There were more Native Americans than Pilgrims at the meal. As there was no pie, the enjoyment factor is questionable.
    Our history teacher used to say that one of the reasons the Mayflower needed to make landfall where it did was that it was running out of beer, which was much safer than brackish water to drink on a sea voyage.
    Apparently turkeys have been clocked at up to 25 mph on the ground, and have been seen flying as well (wild turkeys, not the inbred, big-breasted product you can buy frozen at the store). If you drink too much Wild Turkey, you may see many things flying.
    The Wampanoag tribe were at the meal and provided a lot of the food. Squanto, who had been taken to England forcibly by soldiers previously, provided translating services, was actually the last of the Pawtuxet band of the Wampanoag, with the rest having been wiped out by diseases introduced by Europeans.
    Informally, Abraham Lincoln was the first President to pardon a turkey from appearing on his Thanksgiving day menu. Formally, it is suggested that it was first done by George H. W. Bush in 1989, though it can be argued that many non-avian “turkeys” have received such pardons.
    Tom is a common reference to males, including cats and turkeys. A popular myth (since at least the 2000s) is that founding father Thomas Jefferson favored the bald eagle as the national bird, while Benjamin Franklin favored the turkey. After the eagle was selected, Franklin allegedly named it “tom turkey” after Jefferson.
    False.Although turkeys sometimes do tilt their heads up at the sky and remain there for several moments, scientists say the idea that turkeys drown that way is just a myth. However, the lightening and thunder can cause them to expire from anxiety induced heart attacks.
    Thanksgiving has been officially celebrated as a federal holiday every year since 1863, when, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens,” to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November.
    Without moving its head, a turkey can see 270 degrees, so he can see you creeping up on him with that axe!

    Thanks for the fun!

    emmasmom69 AT gmail DOT com

  27. Jeannie Platt

    Ok answers to the quiz.
    1. More Natives
    2. Nope
    3. faster than my car and they do damage
    4. can’t remember besides squanto
    5. JFK
    6. Because Dick was taken
    7. Nope
    8. Lincoln
    9. 180 on each side… you know two eyes (bahahaha)

    Thanks for this quiz now i feel dumb. Have a great Thanksgiving

    j.m.platt83@gmail.com

  28. desiree

    i say indian
    no
    turkey can go up to 25 to 30 depend on how old
    lincoln had first pardon and made holdiay
    tom is horney male
    and yet they can drown mine did in pool and it was raining the dumb ass look iup they are nosiy
    i say beacuse i raised them a complete circle they can hear and smell alot other animals can
    my was ozzy and harrieit

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