So we’re fresh off an election for the ages, just in time for Thanksgiving, where people who may only see each other once a year gather to eat giant meals and talk about people who aren’t there. But we all know how certain topics can turn a lovely holiday into a snipe-fest.

There are some ways to keep politics off the menu, such as putting a light-hearted sign at the entrance that this is a politics-free zone, or making a gentle phone call to Uncle George ahead of time, reinforcing that you are getting together to share love and family, and that we’re all going to agree to be courteous and respectful. Remind everyone that the election didn’t change one important fact–that you are family.

Another tool in the arsenal would be changing topics. And what better topic to have at the ready than turkey facts. One can find plenty of interesting facts here, and here.

We all learned in grade school that Benjamin Franklin wished to have wild turkeys as the national bird of the USA, rather than the bald eagle, but did you know that individual turkeys have unique voices. This is how turkeys recognize each other.

Turkeys have 5000 to 6000 feathers. So let’s all take a moment to give thanks to the genius who invented mechanical feather removal.

Only the males gobble. (Insert your own joke here.)

Wild turkeys can fly, while domestic one mostly cannot, due to size.

And if you’ve driven around the Twinsburg, Hudson or Aurora area recently, there have been some wild turkey flock sightings. It’s pretty cool.

Tens of millions of people will be traveling billions of miles to eat millions of turkeys, tons of yams, and acres of pumpkin pies. If we follow a few simple common courtesies, and have a couple of people (a good choice would be kids) fully armed with turkey facts, we can all enjoy Thanksgiving for what it’s meant to be. Family time.