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Thanksgiving 2015: By the Numbers

About 228 million turkeys were raised in the U.S. in 2015.
About 228 million turkeys were raised in the U.S. in 2015. AP file

The bird’s in the oven, the relatives are at the front door, you finally found that bag of candy corn you bought on sale last year … so it’s time to look at Thanksgiving, By the Numbers.

1621: In the fall of the year, settlers in Plymouth (in what would become Massachusetts) celebrated a three-day feast with the assistance of the Wampanoag Indian Tribe. The thanks given at that gathering provided the genesis of Thanksgiving.

1863: The year in which President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as the official day to celebrate Thanksgiving.

24.4 million: Americans of English ancestry.

6,500: Existing members of the Wampanoag American Indian tribe in 2010.

228 million: Number of turkeys raised in the U.S. in 2015.

$24 million: The value of U.S. imports of live turkeys (all from Canada) in 2014.

98.6: Percentage of American households with a gas or electric stove.

66,286: Number of supermarkets and groceries (excluding convenience stores) in the U.S. in 2013.

841 million: Pounds of cranberries produced in the U.S. in 2015.

3 billion: Pounds of sweet potatoes produced in the U.S. in 2014.

7: Places in America have names that include the word “Cranberry.”

C.R. Roberts: 253-597-8535

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 1:02 PM with the headline "Thanksgiving 2015: By the Numbers."

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