It’s that time of the year again and you know what that means. The greatest debate of mankind is back and in full force. The debate between turkey and ham.

This year, since we are back in school, the game has changed, the stakes are higher, and there will be answers like never before. There will be student interviews and opinions on the great debate. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you –

Turkey vs. Ham: The Thanksgiving classic, Part II.

Before the student body here at GNA battles it out, I’ll give you, my opinion. Turkey’s trash and sliced ham is the greatest thing since sliced bread.  

So now that’s over let us move forward. . .

Lexi Brink: Ham tastes like plastic, but if it has pineapple – it’s acceptable, but if not it’s just plain rancid. Microwaved turkey is just as rancid as ham and it kind of smells like burning cables. Turkey is only good if it’s fresh out of the oven. In all, I would rather eat chicken in the dark meat category.

Charlie Casey: My turkey day meal consists of both legs of the turkey because no one has enough sense to want them.

Ashton Mazz: Ham all day because turkey is disgusting. I eat goose and pheasant all year so ham is a nice break

Kyler Bednar:  Turkey all the way, ham is too sweet.

Mr.Stetz: I like Ham with a little horseradish and mustard and turkey especially with gravy and black olives. One simply cannot be chosen.

Kamea Paresa – I personally like turkey because ham sucks. 

A.J. Jaskulski: Ham because it’s juicy, turkey is too dry, I eat it for about five days after Thanksgiving for every meal. 

Luke Stove: Obviously Turkey come on, there should be no question. Ham tastes terrible, I didn’t know this was even a debate like c’mon. 

Riley Baird: Turkey all the way. Ham is just not good 

Magalie Huertero: Turkey all the way, ham, salami, bologna all gross me out. 

Ryan Fisher: For festive purposes, I’ll have to go with Turkey – any other day though I’d go with the ham. It has to be moist though, no one likes a dry Turkey. 

Philip Kile: Turkey is simply just better. There is just one instance when somebody can just reasonably favor ham over Turkey and that is just around the Christmas holiday 

Spohie Lukowski: Neither – just Kielbasa and mashed potatoes 

Braden Zaremba: I have no answer

Brandon Brojoakowski: I’ve thought about this debate my whole life and I’ve come to one simple conclusion, why not both. Variety as they say is the spice of life and I personally believe that arguing over such trivial things is purely pointless. Everyone has different tastes and choosing one to me is truly impossible. They both could be reused respectfully as sandwiches or soups and still be just as delicious as they were on Thanksgiving Day.  They are just both so good. So have what you will because at the end of the day it doesn’t affect me. 

Well, there you have it. It appears turkey has won this time but ham lives to see another day…

Here are some fun facts about the Thanksgiving Holiday:

Every single year 46 million turkeys are prepared for Thanksgiving.

Did you know that getting three strikes in a row while bowling is called a turkey? That’s because in the late 1700s and early 1800s prizes given at bowling tournaments were gift baskets of food, often pertaining to items such as large hams or turkeys. 

Originally, presidents had to declare Thanksgiving a holiday every single year until President Lincoln made it a national holiday. Thomas Jefferson refused to recognize the event because he firmly believed in the separation of church and state. Being that Thanksgiving involved prayer and reflection, he thought that designating it a national holiday might infringe on the first amendment. He also liked the idea of it being a state holiday instead of a federal one.

The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade did not have any balloons. In 1924 it did have puppets on floats, singers, celebrities, and of course Santa Claus. But what it did have was animals from the Central Park Zoo. 

The first Thanksgiving was actually a three-day affair. Now it just takes place over one decadent day – if you want to count Black Friday, we can call it two if you want. 

No one knows for certain if there actually was turkey on the dinner table in 1621. The original guests did however indulge in other foods like lobster, seal, and swan. It was also reported that the Wampanoag brought five deer to the celebration. Male turkeys gobble, thus being why they are appropriately named gobblers.

President George H.W. Bush pardoned the first turkey in 1989 after he noticed that the 50-pound bird looked a bit nervous. Every year since then, the presidents upheld this tradition.