Yep, it's everything you ever wanted to know about our favorite fowl but were afraid to ask. Why is turkey called "turkey?" There are several possible explanations: (1) Columbus thought that the land he discovered was connected to India, where peacocks are found in considerable number. And he believed turkeys were a type of peacock (they're actually a type of pheasant). So he named them tuka, which is "peacock" in the Tamil language of India. (2) Another explanation is that firkee (sounds like turkey) was the Native American name for the bird. When the turkey is scared it makes a noise that sounds like "turk, turk, turk." (3) Turkeys could be named after the country of Turkey. < *The heaviest turkey ever raised may have been the 75-pound turkey raised by a turkey farming company in 1967. *Turkey meat from wild or domesticated birds was a staple in the diet of many Indian tribes: The Cheyenne feared it would make them cowardly. The Apache considered the turkey to be timid and wouldn't eat it or use its feathers on their arrows In the Southwest, Indians revered the turkey Northern tribes felt the turkey was a friend of man and could battle evil spirits In Mexico, the turkey was a sacrificial bird Until 1863, Thanksgiving Day had not been celebrated annually since the first feast in 1621. This changed in 1863 when Sarah Josepha Hale encouraged Abraham Lincoln to set aside the last Thursday in November "as a day for national thanksgiving, praise and prayer." In the last twenty years, Americans' love of turkey has soared, with per capita consumption up from 8.3 pounds in 1975 to 18.5 pounds in 1995.* *In 1994, 2.74 billion pounds of turkeys were processed in the U.S. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin feasted on roasted turkey from foil packets at their first meal on the moon. * courtesy of the US Department of Agriculture