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Behind The Curtain On T-Day

Posted by Zonk on from the stuffed-with-stuffing-and-other-stuff dept.

Ant writes "MSN Encarta has Columnist Martha Brockenbrough's article on the myths of this American holiday. From the article: 'A lot of what we know to be true about Thanksgiving really isn't. Determining exactly what did happen is difficult. For starters, we don't even know for certain if the Pilgrims served turkey, although it's a strong possibility.'" Additionally, maotx writes "Contrary to popular belief, turkey does not make you sleepy. While purified tryptophan is a mild sleep-inducing agent, there is not enough in turkey to have a sedative affect. And on top of that, turkey isn't even unusually high in tryptophan compared to other foods, such as beef or soybeans. So for those of us enjoying turkey today, bring on the turkey and have a Happy Thanksgiving!"

2 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. Tell me... by Dystopian+Rebel · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What do the North American Indians celebrate?

    --
    Rich And Stupid is not so bad as Working For Rich And Stupid.
    1. Re:Tell me... by Seumas · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You know, I don't particularly care to continue the "columbus" myth whatsoever, but at the same time . . . What the fuck do you want from me? It's not like this is the only country that was ever conquered or explored or founded or taken by force or anything else. Not the first and not the last.

      Frankly, I'm tired of people trying to lay some trip on me because I'm a "white male". What the fuck did I have to do with buttraping the natives on this country and taking their land? Hey - I'm real sorry about how it all went down, but my family was from Russia and Germany - not Spain - and they only came over within the last century. And I'm pretty fucking sure they weren't royalty or had anything to do with or control to change what happened on this continent.

      Should all the people who have migrated to Australia in the last decade be responsible for what Britain did to the aboriginies in the last century or two?

      On the other hand, it does seem silly to celebrate. But isn't that the Christian way? Fuck someone over, make a holiday for it or take their holiday and make it their own.. voila. Kinda like the whole pagans and Christmas thing. Or the pagans and easter thing.

      Interestingly enough, it does still seem to be what is tought in school, which is fairly amazing.