Talking turkey

Here's everything you'll need to impress Uncle Phil at the dinner table tomorrow, courtesy of infoplease:

• At one time, the turkey and the bald eagle were each considered as the national symbol of America. Benjamin Franklin was one of those who argued passionately on behalf of the turkey. Franklin felt the turkey, although "vain and silly", was a better choice than the bald eagle, whom he felt was "a coward".
• According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the U.S. at Thanksgiving—that's one sixth of all turkeys sold in the U.S. each year. American per capita consumption of turkeys has soared from 8.3 pounds in 1975 to 18.5 pounds last year. [Editor's note: Hellooooo, obesity epidemic.]
• Age is a determining factor in taste. Old, large males are preferable to young toms (males) as tom meat is stringy. The opposite is true for females: old hens are tougher birds.
• Turkeys are the only breed of poultry native to the Western Hemisphere.
• Turkeys have great hearing, but no external ears. They can also see in color, and have excellent visual acuity and a wide field of vision (about 270 degrees), which makes sneaking up on them difficult.
• Domesticated turkeys cannot fly. Wild turkeys, however, can fly for short distances at speeds up to 55 miles per hour. They can also reach speeds of 25 miles per hour on the ground.
• Turkeys sometimes spend the night in trees.

Also, almanac.com says the loose skin below a turkey's chin is called a wattle, while the warts on the wattle are called the caruncles. Bon appetit!