Skip to main content

For Find Out Friday - Why Are Turkeys So Cold?

I find myself, on Fridays, exploring many of the phrases we use so frequently but do not know the origin of. 

Previously, I have shared the history behind karma’s desire to be a bitch (https://bit.ly/2HO84SG), why we need to find a silver lining when something bad happens (https://bit.ly/2ApTU59), why blessings feel the need to wear disguises, (https://bit.ly/2TrY7MA), and why misery loves company so very much (https://bit.ly/2yBvq7u). 

Tonight we will find out why “going cold turkey” can be such a hard path to take and how these birds got themselves such a bad rap. 

Before sitting down to research this topic, I realized the only other time I have written about turkeys is when I shared the history behind their annual presidential pardon on Thanksgiving  (https://bit.ly/2SbuTRE).   

This expression first appeared in print in the Daily Colonist in British Columbia in 1921. The description was used to explain treatment AKA “cold turkey treatment” received by those visiting a Dr. Carleton Simon. 

Possible theories to explain it:

  • The appearance of a bare turkey’s body is usually cold, clammy, and they may have goosebumps on their skin (something addicts going through withdrawal also suffer); and
  • That in order to prepare a turkey for a meal there is very little that needs to be done thus it can be done abruptly like quitting something on the fly.  

While these theories seems plausible there is a better reason why the term “cold turkey” is used the way it is today. 

As early as the 1910 “cold turkey” wasn’t meant to describe quitting drugs or something difficult without help. It was a phrase used to describe wanting someone to tell you how it was; simply and plainly. At that time is wasn’t necessarily considered to be giving advice “cold turkey” it was more like “talking turkey”. 

The expression “talking ‘cold’ turkey” dates back even further to the late 1800s and came about when Native Americans and the new colonists began trading fowl. 

I never knew turkeys were such honest creatures. 

I am now glad I ate chicken on Thanksgiving. 


For More Information:









Comments

Popular posts from this blog

For Find Out Friday - Why Do Emery Boards Make My Skin Crawl?

You know that sound a fingernail makes when it scratches against a chalkboard?  You know that feeling the sound of that action gives you? I, like most people, hate that sound.  I instantly feel like scrunching my shoulders up to my neck and closing my eyes.  I feel the exact same way when I am using an emery board to file my nails. This annoying sensation has a name: “grima” which is Spanish for disgust or uneasiness. This term basically describes any feeling of being displeased, annoyed, or dissatisfied someone or something.  It is a feeling that psychologists are starting to pay more attention to as it relates to our other emotions.  Emery boards are traditionally made with cardboard that has small grains of sand adhered to them. It is the sandpaper that I believe makes me filled with grima.  According to studies that are being done around the world, it is not just the feeling that we associate with certain things like nails on a chalkboard or by using emery boards

For My Madness During Migraine Awareness Month

Last weekend as I sat staring at the blank page in front of me, I was still surprised and elated that I had an entire day to myself and unlike past experiences it was filled with what I wanted when I wanted it. There were a few rough moments but when I consider the previous twelve hours (and the days to come) have been better than the last week. Especially this last week even though I had braced myself ahead of time, I just didn’t know I should have braced for a more serious episode. I am a chronic migraine sufferer for so many years I don’t quite remember when they started exactly which is ironic because I can remember every special event they have ruined. I remember plays or dinners I was at where I don’t remember what happened but I could tell you what I felt minute by minute. It amazing how the mind works, especially when it’s operated by a migraine brain. In the last few years, specifically the last few years since I have been going to the Montefiore Headac

For Find Out Friday - Why is One Foot More Ticklish Than the Other?

As I sit here typing I can’t seem to stop thinking about my nails. Mainly that they REALLY need to get done. They are starting to chip and become unruly. As soon I as think about making an appointment my mind immediately returns to this question: “which of my feet will be ticklish this time?” Because I am a girl that needs her fingernails and toenails to match, I always get a pedicure whenever I get my nails done. And while this should be an activity I enjoy, it often feels like a chore, despite my going only once every three to four weeks. I know; #firstworldproblems.  Anyway, each and every time I get my toes done, as soon as they are done soaking in the bubbly water I wonder, which of my feet will be ticklish today?  Without fail one of them always seems to get the brunt of it and suddenly what was supposed to be a relaxing activity has made me all tense. So, is there a scientific reason for this?  According to most research, yes. While the answer doesn’t