The Surprising Origins of Thanksgiving Foods
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 13. 11. 2016
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References/Learn More:
How turkeys got so big: www.wired.com/2008/11/turkeyt...
Benjamin Franklinâs 1784 letter to Sarah Bache about turkeys: franklinpapers.org/franklin/fr...
Ames, Mercedes, and David M. Spooner. "DNA from herbarium specimens settles a controversy about origins of the European potato." American Journal of Botany 95.2 (2008): 252-257.
Doebley, John. "The genetics of maize evolution." Annu. Rev. Genet. 38 (2004): 37-59.
Grun, Paul. "The evolution of cultivated potatoes." Economic Botany 44.3 (1990): 39-55.
McWilliams, James. The Pecan: A history of America's native nut. University of Texas Press, 2013.
Nee, Michael. "The domestication of cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae)." Economic Botany 44.3 (1990): 56-68.
Polashock, James, et al. "The American cranberry: first insights into the whole genome of a species adapted to bog habitat." BMC plant biology 14.1 (2014): 1
Speller, Camilla F., et al. "Ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals complexity of indigenous North American turkey domestication." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107.7 (2010): 2807-2812.
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So, Native Americans have been cultivating these foods for thousands of years, and then helped first white colonists to survive by teaching them how to grow these local cultures. Some time later the descendants of these colonists gave their thanks to God and native Americans by massacring millions of them in a systematic genocide fashion while other millions of native Americans died from Old World deceases colonists brought, then the survivors were pushed to reservations. I find it strange that everybody seems to forget this real "surprising" origin of thanksgiving foods while enjoying their turkey.
maidpretty I don't think anyone does. I think that you are just trying to be offended. Also, colonist (at least American ones) did not massacre MILLIONS of natives. Tens of thousands, many of whom were warriors, yes. But most died from disease that had already been brought over by Spanish exploration.
David A. hundreds of thousands* you forget the effect of starvation and in fighting.
but no, not millions. smallpox and flu did most of that. also other natives.
Wow. Possibly the dumbest comment I've seen on CZcams in a long time. The Native Americans had been massacring each other for thousands of years before Europeans got there. Also, blaming Europeans for "Old World diseases the colonists brought" is like blaming the Chinese for the Bubonic Plague that they brought to Europe. When you compare the kinds of horrible things that Native Americans committed with all of the so-called "atrocities" of European colonists, there is no comparison: the natives were far worse.
maidpretty Yep sounds about right
Triumvirate888 No just no, where did y get your history from? Like wow
Yes the Natives warred with each other before the arrival of the Europeans but no war amongst themselves led to their wholesale slaughter the way the Europeans did. Most yes were killed by disease brought on by Europeans whom they had no immunity from but the Europeans enslaved and slaughtered quite a few as well and stole the vast majority of their land. Try actually knowing some Natives or knowing basic history before you spout of ignorance like u just said
I find it crazy to think about European food before the Columbian exchange. Scotland, Ireland and Russia had no potatoes, Spain and Italy had no tomatoes. How many Italian dishes with tomatoes can you name against ones without?
I guess certain salads, fish dishes.
You know, do you think the Vikings would have needed/wanted to go pillaging if they had potatoes? IIRC, they are far easier to grow in those climates than anything the vikings would have had.
The Native Americans didn't have much in the way of domestic animals and none could plow fields, so their crops were developed differently. Corn is more effective to grow in a garden plot than wheat is, which co-domesticated with the assumption that humans would be plowing the field with oxen, horses, goats, etc. So the old world had grains like wheat, barley, millet, etc, and legumes like peas, chickpeas, lentis, fava beans, etc. Later on they got their other vegetables like cabbage, onion, lettuce (these were early ones) and later on carrots, celery, beets, etc. The old world had gourds too, but the American squashes and pumpkins ended up replacing them. The Natives had their corn, squash, pumpkins, beans, sunflowers, tomatoes, and peppers. Back in Medieval Europe, your diet was grains, cabbage, onion, fava beans, and dairy and meat was eaten much less, unless you were rich. It is interesting how quickly new world crops got adapted to cuisines, even in places like India and East Asia.
xEl Gringo Loco so no pizza without the Colombian exchange
so much since I live in italu
So the average weight of turkeys has increased at the same rate as the average weight of Americans. :)
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
HUHUHUHUHUH
+
You made my day.
MrAdrian2391 You're welcome.
***** Probably. I don't know the facts; just the stereotypes. :)
Selective breeding of turkeys, corn, potatos etc. alters their genes and makes them bigger. Same thing happens to me after eating too much on Thanksgiving... get bigger and alter my jeans.
HUHUHUHUHUH
Master Therion l
Meh. Could've been better.
Hey, finally an original joke.
kjk loin,l
When it comes to interesting science, I always go back for seconds!
Also, I am thankful for all of you this year.
Thanks đ€
It's Okay To Be Smart thank you
Thanks for the fascinating info, bud!
Yes!!! Finally someone who realizes that pecan is pronounced peh-cahn. And that it's the most delicious of pies.
Are you early
"Pronounced puh-con not pea-can." You sir, just earned yourself a like.
I've always heard it pronounced peh-cahn
***** better than the way dem yankees say it. Lol.
David A. NOOOOO DOWN HERE IN THE SOUTH YOU NEED TO PRONOUNCE IT PEE-CAN LIKE A REAL SOUTHERENER
Steven Ming No way, that's how yankees and Georgians say it. We say it correctly in Texas. . .where the pecan trees grow.
I always hear hosts on other educational channels say "species" as "speshies", but Joe pronounces it like "spesies". Which one is correct?
Loved the audio cue from Law & Ordure.
One interesting fact is that the pilgrims likely knew what turkeys were before even arriving in the new* world. The Spanish brought them back to Europe, trading them amongst Europeans. There is a bird from the old world that is relatively similar to the turkey, it lived within the borders of the former Ottoman Empire thus receiving its name. When the North American Turkey made its way to Europe, the name for the birds the Ottomans were trading became associated with the ones the Spanish were trading from the New World. In the context of English, the North American bird got the name "Turkey" due to the mix-up.
Pretty interesting. Great video guys!
Think Fact THINK FACT!!!!
Sana Qureshi
Hey, nice to hear from you again. :)
Yes! The turkey's Latin name (which is actually half Greek) proves just how confused Europeans were by this bird. Meleagris gallopavo roughly translates to "guinea fowl chicken peacock"
It's Okay To Be Smart
Wow. They really couldn't think of a name đ
Wow.
Here in Mexico corn is prepared with mayo, shredded white cheese and some chili powder.
MasterGeekMX always thankful for that and finding the vendor on Sunday morning
Sounds gross and delicious at the same time.
Ah yes, the traditional Mexican spread - mayo. I believe it's derived from the Mayan civilization, hence the name.
I love the face on the animated farmer when they go "unless farmers do it for them." haha!
Thank you for your pronunciation of pecan. I live in Massachusetts where people are crazy and call them peecan.
I always pronounce it "peec-AHN".
Hey, what side are you Western or Eastern?
Verbatim Eastern. North Carolina.
Verbatim Eastern Mass. If you're talking to me.
In Texas, most of us say puh-con. Texas is where the most native pecan trees are. Also, puh-con is more phonetically similar to the French and native words than most other pronunciations that I have heard.
"Butter-drenched sugar missiles" - lol! What a great history of our favorite Thanksgiving foods - with a kind and smart theme about how advances in agriculture and technology have helped create the foods we love!
I hate it every time you say "STAY CURIOUS", that signals the end of awesomeness.
I am following this channel from the beginning and I am pleased to see that it arrived at over a million subscribers. Also, I am glad that the videos are not cut in an excessive way like many other videos today, where there's a cut after almost every sentence with a bigger gap between words within a sentence than between sentences. Thanks for making such high quality videos, keep up the good work!
5:09 - "I did a science" just took on a new meaning!
According to the Franklin Institute, Benjamin Franklin never said the turkey should be our national bird instead of the eagle. This idea came from a letter to his daughter that said the eagle on the crest looked like a turkey and that the turkey was a respectable bird where the eagle was not. He praises the bird heavily but never actually outright suggests it be the national bird. SOURCE: www.fi.edu/benjamin-franklin/benjamin-franklin-faq
Are you sure? Because the first line of that passage in the 1784 letter do Sarah Franklin Bache reads ""For my own part I wish the Eagle had not been chosen the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character." I guess I read the meaning wrong on that ;)
He definitely does say he doesn't want the eagle, but having the turkey in place of the eagle is something he never said. I listened to an interview with someone at the institute (I honestly can's remember who it was or their position) on NPR last week which is what made me think of this and look it up. Apparently, this question is one they get all the time. I'm not going to argue against the idea the maybe he entertained the idea because he shows way more appreciation for the bird than I've ever seen someone give to it. He just never said it or even ever pushed for it to happen. I've been trying to find something that could swing this either way but so far I'm not finding anything else besides this letter. Maybe we'll get lucky and a Franklin scholar/fan that will scroll past this, jump in, and clear some of this up for us!
The Franklin Papers site was down last week, but here's the link to the full letter if you haven't read it: franklinpapers.org/franklin/framedVolumes.jsp?vol=41&page=281
Franklin's language is flowery enough that it's not the easiest thing in the world to extract a clear meaning, but my reading of the whole passage it is a clear preference for the turkey over the eagle. Others may disagree, but that's history for ya! Interested to know what people think after they read the whole thing.
I'm from Australia and about to experience my first ever America thanks giving :) I'll tell everyone the cool facts I learnt in this video and be super popular ;)
ps. congrats on reaching a million subscribers!
miss physics Get ready to eat a lot, for lots of tv, and hopefully not TOO much arguing amongst family and friends XD
+ StephySon haha thanks for the heads up! Actually sounds fun :)
miss physics Yeah it can be fun, its a bit different for my family but yeah it should still be fun for u ^^
Thingiving
so how was it LOL 4 yrs later imagine she replies
Thumbs up for "pecan" not "pee-can."
"If you know what I'm saying" đđđ Good one. Thanks for posting
So much for people boycotting GMOs....
Christopher Lefont *facepalm* Selective breeding is genetic modification... Just not done in a test tube, and over a longer period of time.
I come from southern California/Arizona, and we say "PEA-con PIE," so I guess there are at least 3 ways to say it!
Love his expression on 1:08!
This video had a bunch of tiny details that made it just that much better. Nice :)
James Craver BIRD !
James Craver Your comment is......
Is in a nutshell! Get it? Please?
lulz
You had me at Puhcahn Not Peecaan" đ music to my ears
Snoods, caruncles, drupes... I love these videos.
Potatoes are from Peru and Bolivia, around Lake Titicaca, not Chile.
A bird bred to become a pile of meat which Americans eat in excess? Screw the bald eagle, the turkey is absolute a more fitting national bird for America.
I finally understand corn now, thank you
Begun, the Pecan Wars have.
English a second language?
Chris Walker Yoda impersonation.
A war where there is no correct side. Both are correct pronunciations.
pee-can or puh-khan
5:08 That corn joke at the end. Super clever! I see what you did there. :D
I am more excited about 'Black Friday' than about thanksgiving.
You're one of those people who will trample others at Walmart if it means you get a cheap TV, aren't you...
Triumvirate888 no, I am one of those people who just want to see the world burn. In other words, I like to see people trample each other for a cheap 4k T.V. just to make their kids happy.
How sad.
I remember one study that said that the variety known world wide was breed on Mexico.
The first Thanksgiving was at Berkley, Virginia in 1619. Two years before the New England one.
I first read the title as, "The Surprising Origin of Thanksgiving Fools."
Happy thanksgiving đŠ everyone!!!!!!!!
Fun fact: turkey is quite literally called "indian chicken" in Russian.
Yes, we do still call Native Americans Indians.
This guy is like a teacher but doesn't give homework and lets you go to the bathroom whenever you want
4:24, I'm so happy that pecan is pronounced correctly. No one I know pees in a can, nor do we eat pee-cans.
Now, can we breed a turkey that isn't dryer than the Sahara the day after cooking?
start breeding for fattiness
Cook it correctly.
Google "how to brine a turkey" and your life will be forever changed for the better
It's Okay To Be Smart Okay? Never heard of doing that before, I'll look it up, thanks ^_^
Dean Goldenstar Brine it bro
LMFAO! Well played! Those corn puns earned this video a like, right away!
The humour is more frequent and more subtle. Keep it up.
If you take ANYTHING whatsoever from this video its the correct pronunciation of the word pecan.
This is the kind of quality content I signed up for
This why I laugh when I see a vegetable or fruit at the store that says "non-gmo", especially corn or bananas. Its impossible to have a non-gmo version of something thats already a gmo.
4:13 Cucurbita Jabbathehutta.
JABBA THE HUT A
So good Joe! Best science video ever! đđđđđđđ
Dear Dr. Hansen
I love your show, been slow to find it, but I can promise I won't miss a single episode from now on đ
Loving the holy grail reference
potato does NOT come from Chile, it's original is traced back to southeastern Peru, in the surroundings of lake Titicaca. A variety later adapted to Chilean hours of light and developed into the Solanum tuberous var. tuberosum
I thought you were being pedantic at first but then I looked at a map: Is the climate as drastically different between those areas as it seems from space? Also, I can't believe that the second largest lake in that area, after the already funny Lake Titicaca, is named lake Poopo'. WTF?
I am kind of sad I didn't have time to go into this more deeply in the video, but since you brought it up and because it's interesting I'll explain why I said Chile and not Peru: Potato genetics are deeply messed up. This is a truly mutant and inbred bunch of plants with extreme variation in chromosome number, etc. Early genetic tests pointed to a mix of Chilean and Andean (Peruvian) origin for potato domestication, but in 2005 it was shown that the first domestication came from Andean region and even the early Chilean strains came from that event. So why didn't I say Peru? Because in 2008 it was shown that >99% of the potatoes we eat today are descendants of Chilean varieties, not Andean. (www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/uow-uds012908.php) So yeah, potatoes were domesticated in Peru, but the ones we eat were further bred and expanded from Chile
+It's Okay To Be Smart Interesting. I thought they were from Peru as well.
Ears another table suprise! Me: *Laughing hysterically* Too corny? Me: *laughing harder*
5:05 nom nom nom...
great video, loved it!!
good video and REALLY dense !!!
Gonna use this for a presentation
2:47 good pun
Thanks man
Now I know the difference between a snood and a caruncle Yay!!
Dogs are native to the Americas ??...Never heard that before...Where did you get that info ??
Barti they came with the Natives; Dogs are probably the first animal humans domesticated.
+Robert Gibson "Came with the natives??". What do you mean ??. I just don't agree with the fact that dogs are native to the Americas. I've seen countless documentaries about wolves and dogs...and never heard that about dogs.
I don't think that "wolves turning into dogs" through human selection/intervention had taken place in the Americas. More like Europe...Asia...Eurasia...
Barti The people who arrived in the Americas to eventually become the Natives brought dogs with them.
+Robert Gibson Yeah...that's for sure...that's what fossils records tell us...but at 1:00 Joe is telling that dogs are native (originated in) to the Americas...along with llamas...alpacas and guinea pigs. And THAT is a controversial statement...and unsupported by evidence.
Clearly a slip. Put the troll brakes on...
You should make a video about the evolution and science of cats!
What is the story behind Chom-Choms then? :P
hey pilgrim's, where's my turkey, pilgrim's.
This video just got me hungry
Karolina Hernandez sup girl hmu I can do card tricks
Thanksgiving is usually on my birthday
I know I'm late but the teosinte trait worked on me!
How you pronounce Pecan says you most likely live in the South West to South East portion of the US between New Mexico and Georgia.
AKA "the area of the country that pronounces it correctly" :)
having an American tell you how their accent is pronounced is laughable, when an American says a word originating in french, spanish, german etc they mutilate it and call it American. Its Pea-Can in Australian
Mat D I think he once mentioned he lives in Texas lol
Everyone in Texas says Puh-Con
Matt G Not everyone. I was in Texas visiting my brother and we both pronounce it pee-can.
thanks a lot!
According to that illustrated dinner table at the end THAT TURKEY MUST HAVE THREE LEGS BECAUSE HE'S EATING ONE AND AAAAA MUTANT TURKEY AAAAA
thanks pbs
another video!!!! plus it's nice to be this early! :)
Wait a second, you reached 1 million subscribers, when did this happen?
What about the historical origin of turkey output orifice bread? Or stuffing as it's typically referred to,
Those scientific names... Well played, sir.
well those wild turkeys in my home state can still breed sans humans one of my neighbors found a nest in their backyard they had to call animal control.
Yeah. Wild turkeys around here are so big that if you hit one with your car, it can cause serious damage, on the level of running into a deer. They are way bigger than any domesticated turkey I've ever heard of.
"Sugar missile" is going to be my boyfriend's new nickname.
4:28 that is the truest thing this man has ever said
That bite at the end drives me nuts. I have braces and a bridge in my mouth. A mouth full that isn't gong away for 6 months (I know, not that long).
0:18 What the hell happened to Costa Rica and Panama on that map?
thanks âș
I love the whole American continent.
So rich, so beautiful, so much variety.
Anyone else like to watch these CZcams science channels when baked as hell?
Great vid
-sigh- when he showed the pic of the dog I cried , I can never have a dog ;-;
People might think this is funny but our family took a vacation in Julien Ca.during one thanksgiving and my older brother tagged along with the family on this trip with with his brand new Crystler 300. We all went to town for the last day of the trip and all of us were headed back from town to where we were staying. As my brother drove along the road we were all happy, laughimg,and joking in the car when all of a sudden this huge black bird came from the clearing and you guessed it dirt flew everywhere in an abundant amount along with black feathers accross the car windshield as my brother. slammed on the breaks. The gigantic black feathered bird turmed out to be a turkey at roughly 25 to at least 30 lbs. or maybe even more. We weren't sure for certain but this bird was huge. After my brother hit the turkey head on with his car it was in really bad shape and undrivable. The person I felt bad for the most was my daughter because she loves animals and she saw the whole thing go down and broke out into tears after the accident . It took a whole lot of convincing to let her know that the bird was alright when it clearly wasn't. Today my daughter still refuses to eat turkey because of the accident and I'm not going to try to change her mind either.
We've been making GMOs for centuries.
Then it's about time we started testing them before selling them to people.
Jayyy Zeee what a buzz kill man
They have been heavily tested. Much more than a lot of other things you have to deal with in life.
Saying pee-can is just silly. I think we can all agree that it sounds like a desperate person's alternative to a toilet, and is not at all appetizing.
So are wild turkey's also different from their earlier ancestor before human selection?
This year Thanksgiving falls on the 24th of November. Darwin published "On the Origin of Species" that same day in 1859.
What an interesting fact :)
Yeah, and on the 24th of November in the year 1105, Rabbi Nathan ben Yehiel published the very first dictionary of the Talmud. Isn't that neat, how two texts that people adhere to religiously were published on the same day, hundreds of years apart? Fascinating!
yes fascinating! :)
Triumvirate888 What's interesting is that first book about evolution was published on the day that we enjoy the fruits of evolution.
Darwin was a hack
Things Iearned, we have been genetically breeding species for thousands of years, and pecan.
Did anyone get the joke of "Solanum tottus" and "Cucurbita jabbathehutta"?
Posted on Google+ 11/20/2018:
Food for Thought...2,000 years ago the "president pardoned birds; Pea and Carrot" ancestry is tracked down through poop!
Enjoy!
Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving was a month ago silly.
Don't Even Bother Do Canadians eat the same foods for Thanksgiving?
Figgy5119 Yes
Not for the American bros
Real Thanksgiving is next week. No one cares about the Canadian rip off of our holiday. :p
Canadian Thanksgiving should be called pre-Thanksgiving so there's no confusion.
you pronounce it RIGHT (pecan)Thank You
Oh yes, thanks now I get it ! Decade years-old petro-industrial patents-protecting sorcerers apprentices from rich countries do the exact same job than millenium knowledge backed careful selectionners from every people on the planet. Thanks a lot for this I feel enlighted.
Actually, corn helped with those dramatic changes. Teosinte possesses a rare trait known as a "jumping gene" -- genetic material that breaks off and inserts itself somewhere else in the chromosomes, to bring about changes more rapidly than would happen simply by careful breeding. You might enjoy my book, Midwest Maize, which shares the whole story of how maize became corn and how corn became the history and economy of the United States. It's a history that includes vampires, whiskey, time zones, and the Chicago Bears.
still a whole different ballgame to pick natural occurring phenomena and breed it, compared to what crispr allows us to do :)
I like watching science videos.
Wait why was this uploaded weeks after thanksgiving?
MattySpeedbuilds AMERICAN THANKSGIVING, YOU CANADIAN WEIRDOS!!!
MattySpeedbuilds its next week in America.
Typical Canadian-centric perspective. LOL
QueenOfMarigold "CANADIAN WEIRDOS" Lol, what? You guys ride in cars, we go on Polar Bears. Who's the fucking weirdo here?
MattySpeedbuilds the polar bears :)
@4:42 "Even 'heritage', 'heirloom', or other old-sounding varieties are mutant versions of wild plants and animals hacked by hungry humans..."
Yes, of course they are. I've never read any "Heritage" or "Heirloom" literature claiming anything other than that the varieties they sell are old versions of human-produced agricultural products. I've certainly never read anything to the effect that "Heritage" or "Heirloom" are the same as or equivalent to wild foods...
"butter - drenched sugar missiles"
I never get a chance to eat turkey.
Everybody gobble-gobble-gobbles it before me.
Now I'm really hungry for some turkey