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Hard Thanksgiving Trivia Questions
The hard questions from our thanksgiving set, 14 of them, each with the answer and an explanation below the game.
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The hard round is for people who have read past the legend. It covers the single surviving eyewitness account, which meat the Wampanoag actually brought, when the date was fixed in law, and how the word Pilgrim came into use long after the colonists themselves had died.
14 hard thanksgiving trivia questions with answers
Which president first used the word pardon for the White House turkey ceremony in 1989?
Answer: George H. W. Bush Presidents had received turkeys for decades before the wording stuck.
In which year did Congress fix Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November?
Answer: 1941 The law settled the confusion caused by the 1939 change.
Whose letter is the main firsthand account of the 1621 harvest feast?
Answer: Edward Winslow It was printed in London in a pamphlet known as Mourt's Relation.
Which Wampanoag leader attended the 1621 gathering with a large party of men?
Answer: Massasoit He had agreed a treaty with the colonists earlier that year.
Which meat does the 1621 account specifically record the Wampanoag bringing?
Answer: Venison Five deer were contributed to the meal.
Canada fixed Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October in which year?
Answer: 1957 Before that the date moved around from year to year.
Which English-speaking Wampanoag man acted as go-between for the Plymouth colonists?
Answer: Tisquantum He had learned the language after being taken to Europe.
Since 1970, a National Day of Mourning has been held each Thanksgiving in which town?
Answer: Plymouth, Massachusetts It is organised by United American Indians of New England.
Which Philadelphia department store ran a Thanksgiving parade from 1920, before Macy's?
Answer: Gimbels Its parade predates the New York one by four years.
Commercial cranberry growers harvest the fruit by flooding what?
Answer: Bogs The berries have air pockets inside, so they float to the surface.
Which president said in 1963 that a turkey presented to him would be allowed to live?
Answer: John F. Kennedy The remark is often treated as an early version of the pardon.
Which of these foods was almost certainly absent from the 1621 table?
Answer: Potatoes Potatoes had not yet become a staple in English colonial cooking.
The Plymouth colonists became widely known as Pilgrims mainly during which century?
Answer: The 19th The label spread as New England writers built up the founding story.
Which amino acid in turkey is popularly blamed for post-dinner sleepiness?
Answer: Tryptophan Turkey contains no more of it than many other meats, so the size of the meal is the likelier cause.
Answer key
- George H. W. Bush
- 1941
- Edward Winslow
- Massasoit
- Venison
- 1957
- Tisquantum
- Plymouth, Massachusetts
- Gimbels
- Bogs
- John F. Kennedy
- Potatoes
- The 19th
- Tryptophan
How to play
- Pick a mode: multiple choice, true or false, a 60-second sprint, or the daily quiz.
- Answer with a tap, or press 1 to 4 on a keyboard. The right answer appears straight away with a line explaining it.
- Finish the round to see your score, copy the result grid, and step up a difficulty.
- Hosting a night? The full thanksgiving list and a separate answer key are printed below, and the print layout drops the game and keeps the paper.
Not in a quiz mood?
The question games are a different kind of round: no right answers, just prompts you read out and argue about. Would You RatherNever Have I EverTruth or DareThis or That