Presidents
This president, the 33rd, had a middle initial that stood for no specific name. It was a compromise to appease both grandfathers, named Shipp and Solomon,
Who is Harry Truman?
88% of Americans opt for this meat option on Thanksgiving. Let's see if we can wrastle one up from the back yard. If not, ham is a close second.
What is Turkey?
This breakfast heating item was first invented by Charles Strite of Minnesota in 1919. The numbers on the "how well done do you want it" dial are, in fact, minutes of cooking time. Mind blown.
What is the pop-up toaster?
Sometimes called Ro-Sham-Bo (or Rochambeau), this is a game where two people 'battle it out' using nothing but hand gestures representing 3 different objects or elements.
What is Rock Paper Scissors?
6 letters - If you have an explosive one of these, its probably best for people to stay back. However, if you do this to chocolate, you're making it easier to work with in your confections.
What is Temper?
This president, #38 and the one who took over after Nixon resigned, was a college football player and was offered positions playing with the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. He turned that down to coach at Yale while getting his law degree.
Who is Gerald Ford?
Orange favorites Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Pie are delicious when covered with lots of whipped cream. Pecan is a sweet and nutty treat. But this fruit pie is statistically the most popular on Turkey Day.
What is apple pie?
This made for TV band was created as a funny American Beatles. With songs like Daydream Believer and Last Train to Clarksville, Davy Jones, Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz and Mike Nesmith were one of the most successful bands of the 60s. Later, when the reunions inevitably started, Mike Nesmith did not join them as he was too busy living off the royalties of his mother's invention of White Out.
If you want to play this game, you'll need a flat surface, some chalk and a rock. Also, the ability to jump on one foot is helpful.
What is Hopscotch?
7 letters - This can be spelled in one of two ways, depending on your region and perhaps level of snootiness. It can be the art of producing shows for the stage, or the building where you see them.
What is Theatre/Theater?
You think people are relentless about mocking Donald Trump's orange pallor and bad hair? That's nothing to how he, our 16th president, was criticized for his disheveled appearance. While focusing on the Emancipation Proclamation, he was often referred to as "hatched faced" "gangly" and mentions of his carelessly brushed thick mop.
Who is Abraham Lincoln?
This Thanksgiving staple was invented in the 1950s by a Campbell Soup Company employee named Dorcas Reilly, with the hope of boosting sales of one of Campbell’s products with the massive increase in Cream of Mushroom Soup demands
What is Green Bean Casserole?
This inventor, often called the Wizard of Menlo Park (that's where his lab was) used the power of persuasion to steal inventions from other people . . . oops, I mean, he harnessed electricity to invent light bulbs and motion pictures.
Jumping a rope by yourself is great for your heart. But to play this game, you need at least two friends, two long ropes, a good sense of rhythm and a good chanting rhyme. The folks of Holland would be so proud.
5, 5 and 7 letters. Same pronunciation, different meanings. One is the possessive plural, as in "this belongs to those people over there." The next is showing location (like here, but different) and the third is a contraction of They Are
This president, number 39, was the first one so far to be sworn in by his nickname rather than his full name. His wife Rosalynn just died this weekend at age 96.
Who is Jimmy Carter?
We as a nation are very polarized on this debate - jelly in a can or fresh-made sauce, sweetening up this very tart berry that is grown in bogs, mostly in Wisconsin and Massachussetts.
What are Cranberries?
Fun fact - if you throw a cranberry on the floor and it bounces, its ripe enough to eat.
William Frederick was credited with this toy's invention which was bought by the Wham-O company in 1957. They named this toy after a popular Yale area pie maker because when the pies were finished, students would throw the used plates out the window.
This alliterative kids game had two opposing teams standing on opposite sides of the playground. One team would call to the other to send someone over. That player would have to either break through the clasped hands of two players on the other team or join them.
What is Red Rover?
7 letters - a weather event which involves a funnel shaped cloud forming below a large storm system.
What is Tornado?
Since he couldn't go out to the bowling alley anymore (being a president really gets in the way of going outside) this president, #37, built a bowling alley directly into the White House in 1969.
Who is Richard Nixon?
Whether you go with Stove Top or make your own, this food has two names, based on how you prepare it. Cook it inside your bird and its stuffing. Cook it on the side, it goes by this name.
What is Dressing?
Three brothers in this family, Groucho, Chico, and Harpo were known performers of Vaudeville and early film. Their slightly lesser known brothers Zeppo and Gummo appeared in their films as well, were also patent holders for a wearable heart monitor and a packaging rack respectively.
This game has the same name in 49 states and all around the world. It involves kids sitting in a circle, with the "it" kid tapping all of the other players on the head, naming a water fowl. When they name a different water fowl, that person chases the "it" kid around the circle.
What is duck duck goose? (or as Jodi will tell you, Duck Duck Grey Duck)
5 letters - poisonous, harmful, unpleasant. Very very bad. Also, a Britney Spears song.
What is Toxic?