People across the U.S. will gather around the dinner table Thursday to eat turkey, watch football, and count their blessings.
The first Thanksgiving took place in November 1621 in Plymouth, Mass., but it wasn’t until more than 200 years later, in 1863, that former President Abraham Lincoln first established Thanksgiving as an annual holiday.
Here are some more fun facts to share with friends and family this holiday.
54 million: The number of people who are expected to travel 50 miles or more for Thanksgiving, projects AAA.
$48.90: The average cost of a Thanksgiving Day feast for 10 people, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. This is a 22-cent decrease from last year’s average of $49.12.
3,000: Number of calories in a typical Thanksgiving dinner, says the Calorie Control Council. A person would need to run a marathon to burn that off.
40,000: The number of runners who show up for the largest turkey trot in the nation, the Capital One Bank Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot. Participants run or walk 8 miles.
46 million: Number of turkeys killed every year for Thanksgiving, according to PETA.
1989: The first year a turkey was officially pardoned, which was done by President George H.W. Bush. President Trump this year pardoned turkeys named Peas and Carrots.
154 million: Number of people in the U.S. who plan to shop during the long holiday weekend this year, according to the National Retail Federation. Black Friday remains the busiest shopping day, with 116 million prepared to head to the stores on that day.
Three: Americans are three times more likely to having a cooking fire on Thanksgiving Day compared to any other day, says the National Fire Protection Association. It is the most common day of the year for home fires.
341: Number of people were killed in motor vehicle crashes nationwide during the Thanksgiving weekend in 2016. About half were not wearing seat belts. Thanksgiving is the deadliest holiday on the road, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
1,400: Number of football-related “Turkey Bowl” injuries on Thanksgiving in 2017 that required an emergency room trip. That’s up from the 2016 daily average of 1,000 football-related ER visits, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Jason Russell contributed to this report.
