Thanksgiving trivia

Thanksgiving trivia questions and answers

30 of 71 questions; play or print to get the rest. Tap a question’s answer line to see it.

1. What name is used today for the English settlers who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620?

   1. The Shakers
   2. The Pilgrims
   3. The Puritans
   4. The Quakers
   Show answer

   B. The Pilgrims According to Plimoth Patuxet Museums, the core members of the emigrant group were Separatists.

2. To a botanist, what kind of plant part is a pumpkin?

   1. A stem
   2. A tuber
   3. A fruit
   4. A root
   Show answer

   C. A fruit Commercially, pumpkins are treated as a vegetable even though botanists label them a fruit.

3. The 1621 letter from Plymouth says Wampanoag hunters brought how many deer to the gathering?

   1. Twelve
   2. Eight
   3. Two
   4. Five
   Show answer

   D. Five The letter says the deer were brought to the plantation and presented to the governor.

4. Per CDC guidance, thawing a frozen turkey in the refrigerator takes about 24 hours for each how many pounds?

   1. 1 to 2 pounds
   2. 4 to 5 pounds
   3. 15 to 20 pounds
   4. 8 to 10 pounds
   Show answer

   B. 4 to 5 pounds The CDC adds that it's safest to cook stuffing in a casserole dish instead of inside the turkey.

5. In a wet harvest, what do cranberry growers do to their bogs so the berries can be collected?

   1. Drain them dry
   2. Spread hay over them
   3. Flood them with water
   4. Plow them under
   Show answer

   C. Flood them with water Machines loosen the berries from the vines, and the floating fruit is corralled on the water's surface.

6. What happens inside a leaf in autumn that lets the yellow and orange colors show?

   1. The green pigment breaks down
   2. The leaf stores extra sunlight
   3. Frost soaks into the leaf
   4. The stem pumps in orange sap
   Show answer

   A. The green pigment breaks down The yellow and orange pigments were in the leaf all summer, hidden behind the green.

7. Which president issued the October 1863 proclamation calling for a national day of thanksgiving?

   1. James Buchanan
   2. Ulysses S. Grant
   3. Abraham Lincoln
   4. Andrew Johnson
   Show answer

   C. Abraham Lincoln The National Archives blog dates the proclamation to October 3, 1863.

8. Pumpkins usually grow on what?

   1. A tree
   2. A bush
   3. A root
   4. A vine
   Show answer

   D. A vine A large-fruited pumpkin plant usually produces only about two pumpkins per vine.

9. How many passengers did the Mayflower carry on its 1620 voyage to New England?

   1. 145
   2. 87
   3. 102
   4. 120
   Show answer

   C. 102 It was the ship's only trip to New England, and the passengers included men, women, and children.

10. Who rode the final float, as guest of honor, in the first Macy's Thanksgiving parade?

    1. Mrs. Claus
    2. Santa Claus
    3. Mother Goose
    4. Uncle Sam
    Show answer

    B. Santa Claus Macy's placed its guest of honor at the rear of the lineup, saving him for the parade's big finish.

11. According to the CDC, which prep step should you skip because it can spread germs around your kitchen?

    1. Brining it overnight
    2. Patting the skin dry
    3. Washing the raw turkey
    4. Thawing it in the refrigerator
    Show answer

    C. Washing the raw turkey Federal agencies have recommended not washing turkey or chicken since 2005.

12. Early Macy's parades featured bears, camels, and monkeys on loan from which place?

    1. The Bronx Zoo
    2. The Central Park Zoo
    3. The Philadelphia Zoo
    4. The Prospect Park Zoo
    Show answer

    B. The Central Park Zoo Elephants were part of the borrowed menagerie too, before balloons replaced the animal acts.

13. Which colonist described the 1621 Plymouth harvest celebration in a letter to a friend in England?

    1. Edward Winslow
    2. Myles Standish
    3. John Alden
    4. William Brewster
    Show answer

    A. Edward Winslow Winslow signed the letter with his initials, 'E.W.', and described three days of hosting the Wampanoag leader Massasoit and some 90 of his men.

14. The 1863 proclamation that called for a national Thanksgiving came in the midst of which war?

    1. The Spanish-American War
    2. The Mexican-American War
    3. The Civil War
    4. The War of 1812
    Show answer

    C. The Civil War The proclamation's own words describe 'a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity.'

15. Which turkey brand's Turkey Talk-Line began answering home cooks' holiday questions in 1981?

    1. Perdue
    2. Tyson
    3. Butterball
    4. Jennie-O
    Show answer

    C. Butterball In its first season in 1981, six home economists worked the Talk-Line's phones and fielded about 11,000 turkey questions.

16. Which American magazine editor campaigned for years to make Thanksgiving a national holiday?

    1. Sarah Josepha Hale
    2. Clara Barton
    3. Louisa May Alcott
    4. Harriet Beecher Stowe
    Show answer

    A. Sarah Josepha Hale Beginning in 1846 she pressed national leaders; her letter to Lincoln is often cited as the main factor in his decision.

17. What is a female turkey called?

    1. A mare
    2. A ewe
    3. A doe
    4. A hen
    Show answer

    D. A hen Hens are smaller than the males and weigh about 9 to 12 pounds.

18. Where do wild turkeys usually sleep at night?

    1. Up in trees
    2. In hollow logs
    3. In underground burrows
    4. In pond reeds
    Show answer

    A. Up in trees Young turkeys can already fly up to a tree roost when they are about two to three weeks old.

19. Which bird gave the cranberry its name?

    1. The crane
    2. The stork
    3. The swan
    4. The heron
    Show answer

    A. The crane Settlers called the fruit 'crane-berry' — some say cranes loved to eat them, others that the blossom resembles a crane's head and neck.

20. According to a colonist's 1621 letter, how long did the Plymouth harvest celebration last?

    1. Five days
    2. Seven days
    3. One day
    4. Three days
    Show answer

    D. Three days The gathering came after a bountiful harvest that followed a year of sickness and scarcity.

21. The pecan is the only major tree nut crop that originated on which continent?

    1. Asia
    2. South America
    3. Africa
    4. North America
    Show answer

    D. North America Settlers in the 1800s carried pecan trees westward, and New Mexico's valleys proved well suited to them.

22. By the colonists' account, about how many Wampanoag men came to the 1621 Plymouth celebration?

    1. About 30
    2. About 90
    3. About 150
    4. About 60
    Show answer

    B. About 90 The 1621 letter describes 'their greatest king Massasoit, with some 90 men' joining the English.

23. Why did President Franklin Roosevelt move Thanksgiving one week earlier in 1939?

    1. To match Canada's Thanksgiving date
    2. To give schools a longer fall break
    3. To avoid an Armistice Day conflict
    4. To allow more Christmas shopping days
    Show answer

    D. To allow more Christmas shopping days Business owners worried a shortened shopping season would dampen economic recovery, the National Archives notes.

24. What is the red flap of skin on a turkey's throat called?

    1. The gizzard
    2. The wattle
    3. The snood
    4. The comb
    Show answer

    B. The wattle Turkeys also sport a dark tuft of feathers on the chest.

25. Traffic police in which city popularized 'Black Friday' as a name for post-Thanksgiving jams?

    1. Baltimore
    2. Pittsburgh
    3. Philadelphia
    4. New York
    Show answer

    C. Philadelphia Officers there also spoke of 'Black Saturday,' and one merchant effort tried rebranding the day 'Big Friday.'

26. A 1957 proclamation by Canada's Parliament fixed that country's Thanksgiving on which day?

    1. The last Friday in October
    2. The fourth Thursday in November
    3. The first Monday in September
    4. The second Monday in October
    Show answer

    D. The second Monday in October Canada's Thanksgiving date had drifted for decades before Parliament fixed it on January 31, 1957.

27. The Ocean Spray cooperative, famous for cranberry sauce, was started in 1930 by how many growers?

    1. Three
    2. Seven
    3. Forty
    4. Twelve
    Show answer

    A. Three Ocean Spray calls itself a company 'built on the maverick mindset of three bold farmers.'

28. What do you call the flap of skin that hangs over a turkey's beak?

    1. The wattle
    2. The snood
    3. The crest
    4. The dewlap
    Show answer

    B. The snood The snood engorges and turns bright red when a tom is upset or courting; the wattle is the flap under the chin.

29. In the late 1920s, what did Macy's do with its giant balloons when the parade was over?

    1. Sent them on a national tour
    2. Released them into the sky
    3. Deflated them for the next year
    4. Auctioned them off for charity
    Show answer

    B. Released them into the sky Freed balloons carried a return address, and anyone who found one could claim a $100 reward from Macy's.

30. Which ocean did the Mayflower cross on its 1620 voyage to America?

    1. The Atlantic Ocean
    2. The Pacific Ocean
    3. The Indian Ocean
    4. The Arctic Ocean
    Show answer

    A. The Atlantic Ocean Many passengers were seasick on the rough crossing, and the ship took 66 days to reach Cape Cod in November 1620.

Hosting a trivia night

• Teams of two to five keep everyone talking. Mix ages so the kids’ questions and the hard ones both get answered.
• One round per category works well: history, food, parades & football, for kids.
• Read it twice, then give a short time to answer before you show the answer.
• Paper version? Print the question sheet for each team and keep the answer sheet for the host.

Questions

How do I run Thanksgiving trivia at the table?

Open Host a quiz on a phone or tablet, split the table into teams, read each question aloud, then tap Show the answer and give the point. The scores stay on this device until you reset them.

Is there Thanksgiving trivia for kids?

Yes. The kids page has only easy questions for children, and it can be played, hosted or printed.

Can family members play from home?

Yes. Play ten questions, then tap Get my link. They get the same ten questions and see both scores at the end.

Are the answers right?

Every answer is checked before it goes on the site. If you think one is wrong, write to [email protected] and we will look at it the same day.

Is it free?

Yes, with no sign-up.