Thanksgiving By the Numbers

1924 – The year of the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. There were floats with singers, puppets, celebrities, zoo animals, and of course, Santa Claus. But no high-flying balloons.

3.5 million – Average number of people who attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade each year. About 8,000 people participate in the parade. The route is 2.5 miles long.

88% — Percentage of Americans who eat turkey on Thanksgiving. The other 12% might either be vegetarian, vegan, or simply don’t like turkey.

46 million – Number of turkeys Americans serve each Thanksgiving, compared with 22 million on Christmas.

86 pounds – Heaviest weight on record of a turkey, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Weight of an average Thanksgiving turkey is 15 pounds.

3,500 – Number of feathers on a full-grown turkey.

50 million – Number of pumpkin pies eaten each Thanksgiving.

$20 million – Amount consumers spend on Campbell’s Mushroom Soup for green bean casseroles each Thanksgiving.

1995 – The year “Tofurkys” hit holiday tables, much to the delight of vegetarians, vegans and pescatarians everywhere.

229 – Number of grams of fat a person typically eats on Thanksgiving. That’s 3-4 times more than the recommended daily allowance. 

4,500 – Average number of calories consumed per person on Thanksgiving Day.

8 in 10 – Number of Americans who prefer Thanksgiving leftovers to the Thanksgiving Day meal.

Near 100,000 – Number of calls and texts answered by the Butterball Turkey Talk Line each Thanksgiving.

115 million – Number of Americans who shop on Black Friday, or 69% of the population.

1920 – Year of the first Thanksgiving Day NFL football game.

18 – Length in minutes of Arlo Guthrie’s song, “Alice’s Restaurant”, often played on radio stations on Thanksgiving.

Sources: goodhousekeeping.com and parade.com