Keith Bradnam

For the last few years I’ve tried to entertain our Thanksgiving guests with a quiz of my own devising. I wait until the guests have eaten their fill, such that their near-comatose state forbids them an easy escape. Here is this year’s quiz. Ten questions, three points per question. Answers are at the bottom.

The Quiz

1) Like everything that is good in the world, Thanksgiving in America has it’s roots in English traditions. As part of the reformation, Church holidays in England were meant to be replaced with ‘Days of Fasting’ or ‘Days of Thanksgiving’ to mark events that Puritans regarded as having special providence. In January 1606, the English Parliament passed the Observance of 5th November Act 1605, commonly known as the “Thanksgiving Act”. What event did this act recognize?

2) In the US, Thanksgiving falls on the 4th Thursday of November. When does Thanksgiving occur in Canada?

3) The West Indian island of Grenada also has a Thanksgiving Day, but it has nothing to do with the American Thanksgiving. What does their Thanksgiving Day celebrate? Choose one of the following:

a) As the worlds second largest producer of nutmeg, they give thanks for a successful nutmeg growing season
b) They give thanks to their 1974 independence from their former colonial overlords, the United Kingdom
c) They give thanks for being invaded in 1983 by the United States military

4) Thanksgiving parades are a famous part of the Thanksgiving Day tradition, with Macy’s parade in New York City among the most famous. Can you match the following Thanksgiving Day parades with the cities where they occur?

a) McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade
b) 6abc Dunkin Donuts Thanksgiving Parade
c) America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Parade

5) Thanksgiving Thursday leads to Black Friday (not to mention Cyber Monday). But there is another commerce-related day that occurs on Friday, a day that started in Mexico 1992, but is now an international day of protest recognized by many. What is it?

6) The world championships of which ‘sport’ are televised each year on Thanksgiving Day on the Science Channel?

7) Turkeys are perhaps the most famous food associated with Thanksgiving, but Turduckens (a chicken stuffed inside a duck inside a turkey) are growing in popularity. Turduckens however are not the only way you can stuff one animal into another to make it into a tasty dinnertime treat. The dish known as ‘Pandora’s cushion’ is a goose stuffed with three other avian species. What are they?

8) Another way by which Turkeys are associated with Thanksgiving is the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation, where the President pardons a live turkey that is presented to him. According to the Eisenhower presidential library, President Eisenhower is said to have done what to the turkeys that he pardoned?

9) Turkey facts. True or false?

a) It is forbidden to sell a turkey (the bird) in Turkey (the country)
b) Turkeys can die of heart attacks brought on by stress
c) in 1982, a home-reared turkey in Alexandria, Louisiana was caught eating the family’s pet chihuahua dog

10) The Daily Press, a newspaper serving Hampton, Virginia has compiled a list of ‘Top 10 Thanksgiving Foods’. We ate six of these top ten items today (Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, Green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie ). What did we miss? Pick three of the remaining food items.

Scroll down to see the answers.

The Answers

1) 3 points for ‘Guy Fawkes day’ or ‘Gunpowder Plot’, 2 points for ‘Bonfire Night’ and 1 point for anything related to fireworks

2) 2nd Monday in October (1 point for each correct part of the answer)

3) All of the answers are factually correct, but the one which caused them to create a Thanksgiving day is the invasion of their country by the United States. (3 points for correct answer)

4) 1 point for each correct answer + McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade (Chicago) + 6abc Dunkin Donuts Thanksgiving Parade (Philadelphia) + America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Parade (Plymouth, MA)

5) Buy Nothing Day (3 points), any recognition of boycotting commerce (1 point)

6) Pumpkin Chunking/Punkin Chunking (3 points), pumpkin throwing/tossing/catapults etc (2 points), anything pumpkin-related (1 point)

7) Goose -> Chicken -> Pheasant -> Quail (1 point for each of the 3 birds)

8) Ate them (3 points), cooked them (1 point)

9) 1 point for each: a) False b) True c) False

10) 1 point for each of the remaining items from the top 10 list (3 points max)

1. 2. 3. 4. Ham 5. 6. 7. Bread rolls 8. Sweet potatoes 9. 10. Turducken