• The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 over a three-day harvest festival. It included 50 Pilgrims, 90 Wampanoag Indians, and lasted three days.

• Historians believe only 5 women were present at the first Thanksgiving. 

• Sarah Josepha Hale (the woman who wrote “Mary Had A Little Lamb”) campaigned for 36 years to get Thanksgiving declared a national holiday, which Abraham Lincoln made official in 1863. 

• Turkey wasn’t served at the first Thanksgiving. Instead, it's likely venison, duck, goose, fish, eels, shellfish, stews, vegetables, pumpkins, and cranberries were on the menu... but not pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce!

• On average, people consume 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving.

• The average time spent cooking for Thanksgiving is 7 hours... but time spent eating the meal is only 16 minutes! 

• John F. Kennedy was the first president to "pardon" a Thanksgiving turkey, followed by Richard Nixon who sent his turkey to a petting zoo. George H.W. Bush formalized the tradition in 1989.

• Minnesota raises the most turkeys in the US.

• Butterball answers more than 100,000 turkey-cooking questions on their Turkey Talk Hotline each November and December.

• According to Roto-Rooter, the day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for plumbers. (Don't put cooking oil down the drain, folks!)

• The tradition of Thanksgiving football began in 1876 with a game between Yale and Princeton. The first Thanksgiving NFL game was played in 1920.

• More people travel to Orlando, Florida than anywhere else on Thanksgiving.

• As many as 81% of people say they prefer Thanksgiving leftovers to the meal itself!

Sources: 

https://worldstrides.com/blog/2016/11/9-fun-facts-about-thanksgiving/
https://blog.nationwide.com/thanksgiving-fun-facts-infographic/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Thanksgiving-Day
https://bestlifeonline.com/thanksgiving-facts/