On this festive occasion of Thanksgiving, it’s not only the turkey and pies that have made headlines over the years, but some peculiar incidents that have left everyone baffled and amused. Here are five times when Thanksgiving dinner took an unexpected turn and made its way to the news.
1. In 2016, a man named Walter Palmer was invited to a friend’s Thanksgiving dinner in Minnesota. Being a dentist by profession, Walter had recently stirred controversy for killing Cecil, a beloved lion in Zimbabwe. As he dug into his turkey, his host noticed that he was chewing something hard and pulled out a metal fragment from his plate. It turned out to be a piece of Walter’s dental equipment. Looks like the turkey was not the only thing being hunted that day.
2. In 2015, an 86-year-old woman from Pennsylvania went to a chain restaurant to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family. However, instead of enjoying the meal, she was “grossly shocked and emotionally humiliated” by the server who said, “I am not cleaning that up,” after she accidentally spilled some stuffing on her shirt. The woman filed a lawsuit against the restaurant, demanding $50,000 for humiliation and embarrassment. Looks like the stuffing was not the only thing that left a bad taste that day.
3. In 2005, a man from California found a unique way to cook his Thanksgiving turkey. He wrapped it in tin foil, placed it on a raft, and set it adrift in a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. The turkey cooked for several hours in the hot water, and the man claimed it was the juiciest and most tender turkey he had ever tasted. However, the park authorities did not appreciate his culinary innovation and charged him with littering. Looks like the turkey was not the only thing that got roasted that day.
4. In 1983, a family in Ohio was getting ready to sit down for Thanksgiving dinner when they found a surprise guest in their turkey. A live grenade fell out of the bird’s cavity, and the family quickly evacuated the house and called the police. It was later discovered that their son, who was a Marine, had left the grenade in the turkey as a prank before going on a military exercise. Looks like the turkey was not the only thing that got stuffed that day.
5. In 2014, a man in Florida was arrested for stealing a live turkey from a neighbor’s yard on Thanksgiving day. He then proceeded to walk down the street with the turkey tied to his back, all the while yelling, “Happy Thanksgiving!” The bizarre incident caught the attention of the local news, and the man was charged with larceny. Looks like the turkey was not the only thing that got a taste of freedom that day.
As we can see, Thanksgiving dinner can take an unexpected turn at any moment, leaving us scratching our heads or laughing out loud. So, as you sit down to eat this year’s feast, keep an eye out for any dental equipment, grenades, or live turkeys. Happy Thanksgiving!
