Thanksgiving Trends, Turkey Trots, Traditions and More

0:03When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans. Send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom's 60th. And never miss a meme or milestone. All protected with end-to-end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp. Message privately with everyone. Learn more at whatsapp.com. Good Morning Brew Daily Show. I'm Neil Freiman. And I'm Toby Howell. Today, happy Thanksgiving, everyone. To celebrate, we're serving up a Thanksgiving-themed episode talking everything from turkey legs to turkey trots.

0:43It's Thursday, November 28th. Let's ride.

0:50As you all go about your Thanksgiving day, we have a feeling that a lot of your plans will follow a similar itinerary. Maybe there's a turkey trot involved, some cooking and eating, obviously, a little bit of football and a nap, then finish it all off with some pre-Black Friday shopping. Toby and I are going to do our best tour guide impressions and dive into each of those events alongside you and give a little business insight and context to each one. Think of it as some small talk fodder to bring up in case that one cousin starts shilling a meme coin a little too hard over dessert. But before we dive in, a quick word from our sponsor, Yahoo Finance.

1:26Neil, how are you feeling for the big family conversation around the Thanksgiving table later today? Feeling good. Feeling very prepared. Oh, yeah. Why is that? Because everyone inevitably starts talking about stocks and crypto and what the market is doing. And I just have a good pulse on that because I spend a ton of time every day on Yahoo Finance, which gives me real-time market data and the latest news in business and finance. Nobody is going to get anything by me. Yeah, my Thanksgiving conversations will probably involve everyone going around bragging about how much NVIDIA stock they have.

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2:41Tap the banner to learn more. So to start the show, I have a secret to admit to you all. My family is very much a turkey trot family. Shocking. Put the turkey in at the crack of dawn, then off we go to our local 5K race, ready to earn the meal that's coming later in the day. But how did Thanksgiving become such a popular day for millions of people across the world to lace up their running shoes? Well, it all started back in Buffalo, New York in 1896, the same year that the modern Olympics actually made their debut. That first event put on by a local YMCA attracted just four finishers, but things only grew from there.

3:17Thanks to the rise of Nike and the popularity of iconic American runners like Steve Prefontaine, the numbers of turkey trot participants quadrupled in the 1970s, but they weren't the turkey trots you know and love today. Quote, it was all guys in short shorts with porn star mustaches, Rich Hargeborough, CEO of the nonprofit Running USA, told The Hustle. Ultra competitive, ultra male dominated. It wasn't until the 80s after pioneers like Joan Benoit Samuelson and Mary Decker towed the line in major races did turkey trots reach a wider audience. Soon they turned into the family-friendly affair you know today.

3:53And now Thanksgiving is the most popular running day in America. More than a million people will tow the start line today. So shout out all my turkey trot people out there. You are not alone. Yeah, I was not a turkey trot guy maybe until a couple years ago. It just seemed like a great thing to do in the morning. I think that's why people do it. They know what's coming later in the day. They know how much sitting is going to be involved. And usually it's some nice crisp weather as well. I mean, you're down in Florida, so it might have been hot. but like what is your family's Thanksgiving turkey trot look like?

4:27So our turkey trot. You'd probably take it way more competitively than us people. Oh, absolutely. Are you kidding me? So our local race is called Run for the Pies actually. And what you do instead of getting medals, if you get top three in your age group or top three overall, you get a pie like an apple pie or pumpkin pie. So I don't want to brag or anything, but I usually say don't worry about dessert this year, mom. Like we'll get some pies at the morning turkey trot. If you don't do well, then we are without pies. But I actually do just want to dig into that Buffalo turkey trot that I mentioned.

4:57This race is pretty remarkable. They say that they are the oldest continually running public foot race in North America, established all the way back in 1896. It really hasn't missed a year since, even during World War I, even during the 1918 flu pandemic, even during World War II, and then as well as the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. They always line it up in Buffalo for this turkey trot, longest running public foot race in North America. Pretty cool. Started one year before the Boston Marathon, too. Right. Because in our we recently did an episode on running and I thought the Boston Marathon was definitely the oldest race in America.

5:31No, Buffalo's got it. There's some other interesting turkey trots that happen around the country. Obviously, they happen in pretty much every community. Mine is quite modest up there in western Massachusetts. But the Dallas one, the Dallas YMCA turkey trot might just be the biggest. They have about 20 ,000 finishers in recent years. That's basically a marathon. I mean, that is a ton of people. The most famous one in New England is called the Manchester Road Race, which started all the way back in 1927. You're nodding your head. You might have heard of that. It's a very famous race. It's a very famous race.

6:04And it is actually I read this endurance book and like elite athletes go to Manchester. It is like a prize prize race. Also, that Dallas one that you mentioned set the world record for the most amount of people dressed as turkeys running. So not only is it one of the biggest, it is also the biggest gathering of people dressed as turkeys running as well. And then there's one in Silicon Valley, which is called the Applied Materials Silicon Valley. And leave it to those guys to have a corporate sponsor for their turkey trot. So if you are going on a turkey trot today, have a great time, whether you're competitive or you're just running a leisurely 5K to sweat it up a little bit.

6:41Finally, though, my last point on turkey trots, I don't want to burst your bubble, but you would have to walk for about nine hours to burn off the typical Thanksgiving dinner. So I know I said you earn your dinner with or earn your meal with a turkey trot. But unfortunately, you're still going to be probably in a calorie surplus. It's called Thanksgiving. It's called Thanksgiving. OK, so you just got home from the turkey trot. What's next on the Thanksgiving agenda? Grab a cold glass of water and turn on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. of course. The tradition, now in its 100th year, has become more popular than ever.

7:15At a time when other live entertainment broadcasts are seeing record low viewership, the Thanksgiving parade has surged to all-time highs. 28.5 million people watched last year's parade on NBC and Peacock, up 6 % from the year before. That is a ton of people. It was the second most watched non-football broadcast on TV last year, only behind the State of the Union. Clearly, people love watching their favorite characters float down New York City's cavernous streets to Macy's flagship store in Herald Square, where it all began in 1924. During Thanksgiving of that year, Macy's staged what was then a Christmas-themed parade to celebrate the expansion of its store, which at 1.5 million square feet was the world's largest.

8:00Toby, any fond memories of the parade, or are you still with your family at the turkey trot yeah honestly i wasn't a big macy's day parade watcher but i was a little curious what if maureen brudaley wanted to get a balloon this year how much would it set us back it costs a pretty penny a first-time balloon costs upwards of two hundred thousand dollars that's just to get the cover the parade admission and the balloon construction but here's an even crazier fact. Balloons take at least$510 ,000 to fill up with helium. That is the cost of the helium because these things are huge. They use upwards of 300 ,000 to 700 ,000 cubic feet of helium.

8:41So that is just a massive bill. So unfortunately, you're not going to be seeing Neil or Toby's heads float down this year, but maybe a few more ad deals, maybe a few more listens will get enough cash to put together an MBD balloon. There is this urban legend that has gone around that says that Macy's is the second biggest purchaser of helium in the United States or even in the world following the U.S. government. And I went on a wild goose chase on the internet before this episode to see if that was true because it sounds not real. I could not find, I cannot confirm it. It doesn't seem real. I'm willing to give that for Pinocchios.

9:19I'm wondering though, because like 300 ,000 to 700 ,000 cubic feet per balloon and there's however many balloons on there. It certainly could be. I mean, there's always some truth to urban legends. But I was looking also into just, I call it the Mount Rushmore of parade balloons. Who has been out there the most? Who has made the most appearances? And Snoopy is the GOAT, obviously. 43 parades to its name. Lots of different variations of Snoopy. Sometimes you got Space Snoopy. Sometimes you just have the classic. Ronald McDonald comes in second with 31 parades. Then you got characters like Rocky and Bullwinkle, then Pikachu.

9:52It also got me thinking, In modern media, are there any characters that you think will have the same lasting power like that of Snoopy was that in 50 years, 100 years? Mickey Mouse. Well, see, I'm thinking more modern. No, I know. I'm saying along those lines. I mean, it's tough to say. I think there have been a lot of Pixar characters that have come through that may have some staying power. Bluey is probably the biggest cartoon character of the last few years. Who knows whether they'll have a float in 100 years from now, but Bluey seems to be the one that's captured so many eyeballs, and kids would absolutely love to see that have a float.

10:31Looking down the pipeline, I have no idea. Yeah. They would love to see a Toby float. I'm telling you, I'm trying to do it, but we need a GoFundMe or something because I can't cover the helium costs. All right, you know what? We have waited too long for this. It's time to eat. The centerpiece of all Thanksgivings is the meal, traditionally anchored by a massive turkey with a host of mix-and-match sides. And after years of inflation, it probably cost you a little less this year. According to the American Farm Bureau, a classic Thanksgiving feast declined 5 % from 2023, primarily because the average cost of a 16-pound turkey is down 6%.

11:06And if you use milk for your pies and other recipes, you likely also noticed that it didn't break the bank. Whole milk prices have plunged 14 % from last year. But, Toby, I think there's an aspect of Thanksgiving cuisine that doesn't get discussed that much. And it's all those sweet salads, relics of 20th century American cookbooks that your aunt still trots out every Thanksgiving. You know what I'm talking about? Salads, and I'm using scare quotes here, that are typically made with pudding mix, gelatin, Cool Whip, canned fruit and sugar that at the time they were developed were considered modern, hygienic, technological marvels.

11:40Now they're curiosities, but they seem to have been preserved throughout the generations. It absolutely has been preserved because both my mom and my dad make these sweet, quote-unquote, salads. My dad always makes this seven-layer jello salad. I was like, why are you calling this a salad at all? It is in like a Bundt cake mold with ice cream layers, marshmallows, raspberries in it. And it is obviously a dessert, but he labels it a salad. And then my mom makes Waldorf salad, too, which does have apples. And it actually has mayonnaise mixed in as well. It doesn't sound good, but it's sweet and delicious.

12:12So I do love this is the most American of things ever is that we rebranded these just like sugary, basically monstrosities as salads. And they have persisted all the way from the 50s into modern day. Have you ever had one of these? I don't know. It's not. I don't know if it's my culture, but it is in a lot of places like Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Utah. They eat something called a frog eye salad. And a frog eye salad is some combination of pasta, fruit, eggs, whipped cream and marshmallows. I mean, it just sounds gross, but I know it's probably delicious, but eggs and whipped cream in the same sentence.

12:47In terms of the more traditional sides, though, for Thanksgiving or turkey, you know, like what, where are your power rankings here? Oh, I got a lot of thoughts on this. For me, stuffing and mashed potatoes are 1A, 1B. They can both shine in their own right, but they're also kind of perfect cover-ups for kind of the overall weakness of turkey if we're in the trust tree here. Ladder them on, turkey becomes a little more palatable. and then for me next is gravy because it's the glue that holds the whole plate together also slide cranberry sauce in on that same tier as well because it sort of elevates the team around it it's not the star player but it elevates everyone around it i think i'm legally obligated to say green bean casserole as well because my poor brother has been making that campbell's soup recipe since he was like 10 years old since he could reach the kitchen counter and we all would go like, Henry, so good.

13:37We love it. But it is actually pretty dang good. And then finishing it off, I'm putting sweet potato casserole on my list because the sugar content per square inch of that dish is outrageous. The way we make it is the entire top is covered in marshmallows that you kind of put under the broiler, get a little caramely. So good. I don't know how that slides in as a side dish and not an actual dessert. But yeah, that's kind of generally how I'm approaching the side dish game this year. Here's the question, though. Is Turkey ever going to relinquish its dominance, its stranglehold over the market of Thanksgiving proteins?

14:13Because right now it's kind of like Google search, but maybe, you know, Google searches might get broken up. There are AI entrants into the space like things don't last forever. And Turkey, as the centerpiece of Thanksgiving, really has lasted decades, if not hundreds of years. But there is a time for everything to change and nothing is inevitable. And, you know, talking to people about Turkey is generally the thing is like the mood is, yeah, we have to eat it. I don't think anyone is particularly excited about it, but maybe the Turkey lobby is so strong that we will just be under Turkey, big Turkey's grip for decades to come.

14:49I have stats actually to back up those vibes that you were talking about. U S per capita Turkey consumption peaked all the way back in 1996. It's been a slow decline since now. It's down 18%. Now we only consume about 14.8 pounds of turkey per year. That was in 2023. The majority of that coming on Thanksgiving. Obviously, I also put together some ideas if you did want to go in a different direction than turkey this year. Roast chicken, toss on some maple butter, some rosemary. Pretty delicious. Pork chops and apples. I think that's, first of all, just an insane combination right there, but much better than turkey.

15:23A beef wellington if you wanted to get a little fancy. Someone brought a brisket as a good option, and all of a sudden I can't stop thinking about that. I have brisket at every other Jewish holiday. I think Thanksgiving has to be a little sacrosanct. But for the people who don't, it is a great holiday dish. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, free yourself up from the shackles of turkey today. The world is your oyster. I mean, have some oysters if you're into that. But yeah, I'm still team turkey, though, until I die. Now let's take a quick break to digest some of this food.

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17:46Princeton and Yale kicked off the tradition, scheduling a game against each other on Thanksgiving Day from 1876 to 1881. Due to its popularities, the schools actually decided to move the college championship game to Thanksgiving Day in New York City going forward. The NFL didn't follow suit until later in 1934, when the new Lions owner scheduled a Thanksgiving Day game to attract fans after the team relocated to the city that year. Since that decision, football on Thanksgiving has turned into a national pass time in an absolute ratings juggernaut. In 2022, 42 million viewers watched the Dallas Cowboys play the New York Giants, becoming the most watched NFL game in regular season history.

18:27But even outside the professional side of things, Thanksgiving Day Turkey Bowls have also taken place in backyards across the country. I was just curious because you've ate some food, maybe some drinks, a lot of tightness in the hamstrings. You got to think that injuries go up on Thanksgiving thanks to these amateur backyard football games. And lo and behold, they do. ER visits in New York see a 10 % to 12 % uptick during this holiday period, with visits growing more frequent the longer the day goes on as more of those drinks start to flow. So if you do want to play football today, make sure you limber up so you don't have any of those ER visits.

19:05I think what's great about football on Thanksgiving Day is that it's really for everyone. It's at all levels from playing in your backyard, from those of us that have never stepped foot on a actual football field. You kind of make believe like you're an NFL player all the way up through high school, college, NFL. It's just a full it just shows like the cultural impact of this sport on our lives. And I love playing football. I'm not a bad touch football player myself. If you need a slot receiver, hit me up. But yeah, I mean, the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have owned this day from a professional level for a while now, for decades.

19:42And then they added this third slot 19 years ago. And that is in the evening. That's always a pretty good game. Let's talk about the matchups here. Let's do our best NFL countdown impression. We have Detroit, which is an absolute juggernaut this year. For so long, they were so bad. And you're like, oh, I have to watch the Lions play. But now they are amazing. So that should be fun. They're taking on the Chicago Bears. And then later on, you have the Cowboys facing the Giants. That is the time to take the nap, people. We got two backup quarterbacks there. That is when you hit the couch and go to sleep.

20:14People might hate watch that game, though. I saw some people being like, I kind of love that the Cowboys are facing the Giants because it is going to be an epic disaster. And then later in the night, the Dolphins are playing the Packers in, I guess, a matchup of the green. Yeah, the matchup of the green. I do actually want to talk about that other tradition that we touched on for a second right there, and that is nap time. The post-meal nap time when the Cowboys are losing just hits different. But also the reason why it hits different is not because turkey contains tryptophan. And I know that know-it-all family member has definitely given you this spiel before, like, oh, you're tired because eating turkey boosts the level of tryptophan in your brain, which subsequently boosts the level of serotonin, which makes you feel nice and warm and happy and sleepy.

20:58but sorry to burst your bubble. Turkey contains less tryptophan than normal chicken. So you're not getting some outsized dosage that are making your eyelids heavy. You're probably just sleepy because watching Daniel Jones or Tommy Cutlett's play quarterback makes you want to close your eyes. One final note about football. Did you have like a big high school game? No. Really? My high school was, my graduating class was very, very small. Oh, we had a big, yeah. Also across, high school is across the country. There's always a big Thanksgiving Day game against your rival. We were Longmeadow. We played East Longmeadow.

21:32We were always a lot better than them. But that always started around 10 a.m. I guess it conflicts with the turkey trot. I wasn't a turkey trot person back in high school. But that was really fun to go to the local high school, walk out there, and have a big high school game as well. My big thing, too, is I played soccer in college. And if you made the NCAA tournament, you would miss Thanksgiving. So every year we would kind of say, Mom, I might not be coming home. I never ended up making the tournament, though. So I always showed up for Thanksgiving. All right. So we just wrapped up Thanksgiving.

22:03Let's talk a little bit about Black Friday, which is one of the biggest holiday shopping days on the calendar. I know you probably might have it in the back of your mind about certain deals that you might want to get, certain stores that you might want to go to, certain websites that you might want to shop on. Well, here are some forecasts from Bain & Company about how much people are going to spend U.S. retail sales between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which is on Monday. Our forecast to rise 5 % year over year to hit$75 billion for the first time ever. About 8 % of all U.S. retail sales during the holiday season from Thanksgiving to Christmas will occur during this four-day period from Black Friday to Cyber Monday.

22:46But Black Friday is not the most popular day to shop on in the entire holiday calendar. People spent the most. This is according to Bain. Last year, people spent the most on December 22nd. The last minute, the last minute, you know, I'm talking about that was followed by Black Friday. And then that was followed by Christmas Eve. So even more last minute. And you might think Cyber Monday has grown to be this huge dugger or not. But it's not even the top 10 busiest shopping day over the course of the year. Yeah, just because we give something a name doesn't automatically mean we're going to go. Oh, I thought so.

23:21I thought it was. I actually didn't know. Do you know why it's called Black Friday? Is it? I mean, the urban legend. There's so many urban legends around Thanksgiving this time of year. But it was that when retailers go from the red, you know, loss-making to profitable over the course, you know, this is the time of the year where they start making money. That is actually 100 % correct right there. I just never put it together. Yeah. Red denotes losses. Black means you're in the profit. That's why it's gone. Yeah, but we do this show and we're like, Walmart is very profitable and turned to profit.