Iron Lady

Have you seen The Iron Lady? I love Meryl Streep and she's nominated for an academy award for it, so I for one, can't wait to see it. It looks like a fantastic film and even though I've only seen clips, Meryl really does disappear in the role. Plus, I am history lover.

Do you know about Wishbones?

We all know the story of Thanksgiving (I hope) but how about the history of the wishbone? 

Supposedly the wishbone custom began with the Etruscans who believed that both the hen and the cock were "soothsayers" (fortune tellers). The hen because her squawk foretold the laying of an egg; the cock because his crow heralded the dawn of a new day. 

The bird's collarbone was laid in the sun to dry when a sacred bird was killed. An Etruscan wishing to benefit from the powers of the oracle would pick up the bone and stroke (not break) it while making a wish; hence the name "wishbone." 

It was the Romans who brought the wishbone superstition North to England. Somewhere in there the breaking of the dried clavicle of a chicken became the thing to do, and became an established tradition by the time the Pilgrims reached the New World. 

Wild turkeys populated the northeastern shores of America and have clavicles similar to those of chickens, so the Pilgrims adapted the wishbone custom to the turkey, making it part of Thanksgiving festivities. Thus, making an ancient Etruscan superstition a part of an American celebration.