Thursday, November 19, 2009

Soooo that is why it's called TURKEY!!!!!!


Don't you just hate it when the 4legged who NEVER uses the computer, sits down long enough to prove you wrong? And you need to know that he did not even use Dragon Naturally barking! He used primitive paws to bring up this:

From Wiki:

"A turkey is either of two living species of large birds in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The other species, Meleagris ocellata, known as the Ocellated Turkey, is native to the forests of the Yucatán Peninsula.

The domestic turkey is a descendant of the Wild Turkey and features prominently in the menu of the Canadian and U.S. holidays of Thanksgiving and that of Christmas in many countries.

Turkeys are classed in the taxonomic order of Galliformes. Within this order they are relatives of the family/subfamily Tetraonidae (grouse). Turkeys have a distinctive fleshy wattle that hangs from the underside of the beak, and a fleshy protuberance that hangs from the top of its beak called a snood. With wingspans of 1.5–1.8 metres (4.9–5.9 ft), the turkeys are by far the largest birds in the open forests in which they live. As with many Galliform species the female (hen) is smaller than the male (tom or gobbler) and is much less colorful."

BUT!!!!!
Read on McDuff!!! The name makes no sense because the 2leggeds really had no idea where they were and... they misidentified the bird!!!!! See??? I knew the name was wrong! The poor bird got stuck with the wrong name!!! Imagine if everyone called you a cow and you were a dog!!! How terrible!!

"When Europeans first encountered turkeys in the Americas they incorrectly identified the birds as a type of guineafowl (Numididae), also known as Turkey fowl (or Turkey hen and Turkey cock) from their importation to Central Europe through Turkey, and that name, shortened to just the name of the country, stuck as the name of the bird. The confusion between these kinds of birds from related but different families is also reflected in the scientific name for the turkey genus: meleagris (μελεαγρίς) is Greek for guineafowl. The domesticated turkey is attributed to Aztec agriculture, which addressed one subspecies of Meleagris gallopavo local to the present day states of Jalisco and Guerrero.[1]

The names for M. gallopavo in other languages also frequently reflect its exotic origins, seen from an Old World viewpoint, and add to the confusion about where turkeys actually came from. The many references to India seen in common names go back to a combination of two factors: first, the genuine belief that the newly-discovered Americas were in fact a part of Asia, and second, the tendency during that time to attribute exotic animals and foods to a place that symbolized far-off, exotic lands. The latter is reflected in terms like "Muscovy Duck" (which is from South America, not Muscovy). This was a major reason why the name Turkey fowl stuck to Meleagris rather than to the guinea fowl (Numida meleagris): the Ottoman Empire represented the exotic East."


So, bird, what do I call you? Obviously I have a dilemma. Chicken you are NOT. I want to be PC. Am I perpetuating a mistake by calling you "turkey"? I suppose that is what you identify with since it has been in use for many many generations. So... reluctantly.... do you mind???
Turkey it shall be.

Groan. JD suggests I stop all this "hypocrisy" and call the bird "delicious". Oh he is soooo cold.

Awareness is not always comfortable.
'vie

4 comments:

rocky-dog said...

Yes, mama also explained this to me but we don't do the humongous bird here too often anymore as neither mama nor John-daddy can eat very much (trust me, this leave me with hardly ANYTHING to beg for!). Mama will cook a smaller version every now and then but she calls it "beer can chicken". I am not completely sure what the beer can thing is, but the bird part is quite tasty. This year though, because mama and John-daddy are going to be gone, I get to go to my Auntie Laura and Uncle Peter's house for a LONG time. Mama says I need to be on my best behavior and not do any poop in the house. Sheesh, I don't normally do that but I did slip one time and now that's all I ever here about. Auntie Laura makes lot's of yummies, and I get to sleep on the big bed and sometimes Tyler or even Ashley get to come to Auntie Laura's too. Auntie Laura is a very good cook and maybe she will be making the humongous bird this year. One can always hope!

Yours -- Rocky

silvieon4 said...

If she does, give her the sit down and the pitiful eye beg look. My momma hates the bird, but everyone else loves it ... so....she makes it.Your beer can chicken sounds like our beer butt chicken. That is a summer thing and I get some because Wendy loves it. They make enough for her and I get default fed. :)

rocky-dog said...

Oh yes, Auntie Laura also had a bichon girl, Miss Stella, who went to the Rainbow Bridge 2 years ago. So mama tells me that when I go to Auntie Laura's it is to fill the hole that was left behind when Stella went to the bridge.

Auntie Laura is a push over compared to mama -- she gives me all kinds of yummies. I think because she still misses Stella. Mama used to have Stella visit when Auntie Laura used to go away. That's why mama now has me -- she just couldn't be without bichon loving all the time. R

silvieon4 said...

Awwwwww you make sure your auntie Laura has Bichon loving and when she is ready to fill that hole on a permanent basis... SAVE a live and rescue. MAKE SURE momma leaves you a t-shirt with her scent so you can cuddle with it and not miss her so much. xoxxoxox