Thanksgiving is a holiday of gratitude, of giving back, and of coming together. It’s also one centered around a large meal, and it’s one of the most food-centric days of the year.
Lots of us will eat to excess on Thanksgiving, with a dinner spread that takes an entire day to put together. But will your meal measure up to some of these record-breaking ones?
We’ve gathered some Thanksgiving-related statistics from the Guinness Book of World Records. Additional stats from Insider.
1. Largest Turkey of All Time
Tyson was the heaviest turkey ever, weighing in at 86 pounds. That’s almost four times larger than most average turkeys, which themselves are large birds. Tyson was from Peterborough, UK.
2. World’s Biggest Pumpkin Pie
At over 20 feet in diameter, the world’s biggest pumpkin pie certainly takes….the cake. Over 3,699 pounds, the enormous pie was baked by New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in Ohio. Better invite the neighbors over…
3. Fastest Turkey Carving
Carving a turkey isn’t everyone’s favorite job, as it needs to be done carefully, avoiding bones, and making the most of the bird. It can often take upward of an hour. But not for Paul Kelly, who carved an entire turkey in 3 minutes and 19 seconds.
4. Largest Serving of Mashed Potatoes
Jason Lin, Colin Stockdale, Tyler Hubeny, and Evan Armstrong went for the record, and succeeded, making an enormous 2,641 pounds of mashed potatoes. We can only imagine how long that took to peel and boil!
5. Largest number of people dressed like turkeys
‘Turkey Trot’ runs have become Thanksgiving traditions, where people do charity races and runs. At the 2011 Turkey Trot in Dallas, Texas, over 660 people dressed up in costume.
