These Are the Weirdest Thanksgiving Traditions Ever

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Since the 1940’s and officially since 1989, US Presidents have been ‘pardoning’ a turkey prior to Thanksgiving. In a televised ceremony, the President is presented with a live domestic turkey which he ‘pardons’. The turkey is then sent to live out its days at Mount Vernon, the former estate of President George Washington as opposed to ending up as someone’s dinner.

Forget bowling balls and bowl with a frozen turkey this Thanksgiving using soda or water bottles as makeshift pins. This hilarious tradition started in 1988 at Lucky’s grocery shop in Newport Beach, where the bowling took place in the alleys of the store.

When turkey isn’t enough, try a turducken! A deboned chicken is stuffed into a deboned duck which is then stuffed into a deboned turkey. Whoa.

Or, go completely ham like they do in San Francisco and substitute your Thanksgiving bird with crab! Thanksgiving normally marks the beginning of Dungeness crab season so there is no better way to celebrate than a seafood Thanksgiving feast.

At the North Technical High School in Florissant, Missouri, Thanksgiving marks an annual pie-throwing event where students get to launch pies at the faculty and administration. This seems like something the world could get into.

These popular events generally held before Thanksgiving involve getting dressed up as a turkey and doing a 3- to 5-mile run, normally for charity. A great way to shed some excess calories pre-feasting, think of it like a Thanksgiving-themed mini marathon.

A few brave folks get together before Thanksgiving to stretch their stomachs at various turkey-eating competitions across the US. Normally, the event will involve eating as much of possibly can of a 20-pound turkey in a limited amount of time. Joey Chestnut currently holds the title, managing to gobble down 9lbs (4kg) in just 10 minutes!

In Indianapolis, Indiana, some high school athletes started a tradition of dressing turkeys (not live ones, don’t worry) in baby onesies, lighting them on fire and throwing them across a football field to see who’s turkey could fly further. Shocker, they are still doing it.

The day that shopping is at its most competitive. Just why?

Many families eat so much on Thanksgiving that they go for a walk between after dinner to make room for dessert. This takes the popular phrase, “I work out so I can eat” to a whole new excessive level.

Lastly, sorry to burst your bubble, but Thanksgiving, the quintessential American holiday, is not actually American. It was first celebrated in Canada 40 years before we started in the States. Epic fail.