All about Thanksgiving, with a wink and a smile

There’s clearly a lot of history in the American holiday of Thanksgiving.

Pilgrims aside, the celebration has been marked by a number of milestones since that first repast. From presidential to fowl to, yes, Arlo Guthrie, Thanksgiving has played an important roll in our nation’s ongoing story.

To prepare for the quickly approaching holiday, Bill Newell, Modesto Junior College professor of U.S. history, offers his take on the top 10 things people might not know about Thanksgiving, with some tongue-in-cheek myths busted to go along. This week’s list is offered in inverted order:

10. What Civil War battle was the inspiration for Abraham Lincoln to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863?

Fact: Gettysburg

Myth busted: It was not to celebrate his victory in a drumstick tug-of-war with wife Mary.

9. What Arlo Guthrie top 40 song was inspired by a 1965 incident on Thanksgiving Day?

Fact: Arlo Guthrie’s song “Alice’s Restaurant” was mostly based on an incident that occurred on Thanksgiving Day, 1965.

Myth busted: Arlo was not high on stuffing fumes when he wrote it.

8. Which president signed into law that the fourth Thursday in November would be the official date for the Thanksgiving holiday?

Fact: In 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the law, passed by Congress, and established the fourth Thursday in November as the official date. It took effect in 1942.

Myth Busted: This date was not opposed by several congressmen who wanted the date set as Nov. 31 (…think… about… it….).

7. Which president was the first to grant a presidential “pardon” to a turkey for the holiday?

Fact: In 1989 George H.W. Bush was the first president to give a “presidential pardon” to a turkey.

Myth busted: This year Barack Obama does not have any plans to “pardon” Adam Sandler for making his 1997 movie “Thanksgiving Day”.

6. Who was the first “president” to declare a national day of “thanksgiving”?

Fact: In 1781 John Hanson (who??) was elected as the United States’ first “President of the United States in Congress Assembled.” This was under America’s first government, the Articles of Confederation, during the Revolution. George Washington thought history would always remember Hanson as the first President of the United States. Uh, maybe not! However, Hanson was the first “president” to declare a national day of “thanksgiving.”

Myth Busted: Hanson never helped George Washington get leftover turkey out of his wooden teeth by blasting them with a solar-powered Waterpik.

5. How many National Football League games are on Thanksgiving?

Fact: Three

Myth busted: It has never been proved that 95 percent of American men wish there were 16. However, it has never actually been proved false, either.

4. Was turkey the meat served at the first Thanksgiving?

Fact: There is no direct evidence that turkey was served at the first “Thanksgiving.” The few written records stated only that “fowl” was eaten, although turkeys had been hunted earlier in the year. Most historians also believe that since the ocean was nearby, eel, mussels and other ocean creatures were most likely on the menu.

Myth busted: There is no historical evidence that John Alden used a Groupon to treat Pilgrims to the Thanksgiving Day seafood buffet at the Plymouth Colony Red Lobster.

3. Who was the first president under the U.S. Constitution to recognize Thanksgiving?

Fact: George Washington

Myth busted: George Washington did not say he did this to “honor my main homie, John Hanson.”

2. Sarah Joespha Hale was primarily responsible for persuading Lincoln to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday. For what is she most famous?

Fact: She wrote “Mary Had a Little Lamb”.

Myth busted: Nowhere was it ever recorded that Lincoln asked her “Could I get some lime jelly with that lamb?”

1. Which revolutionary leader thought the turkey should be America’s national bird?

Fact: Benjamin Franklin thought the turkey should be America’s national bird. He found it to be courageous and felt it would attack any British grenadier who might “invade its farmyard.” He thought the eagle was of bad moral character that it did not get its living “honestly.”

Myth busted: However, there is no historical proof that Franklin ever advocated that the national motto should be “E Pluribus Wattle”!

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 3:28 PM with the headline "All about Thanksgiving, with a wink and a smile."