Thanksgiving didn’t happen the way a lot of us probably have learned it did back in elementary school. Kindergarteners in problematic construction paper headdresses, playacting with fifth graders in black hats and buckle shoes, holding hands and giving thanks for a plentiful harvest and new friends.

Those pageants we performed in were inaccurate. The Wampanoag people were likely trying to form an alliance, not being friendly just for the sake of it. But what about the food? Was there at least turkey served?

According to Troy Bickham, a history professor and director of the Melbourne Glasscock Center for Humanities Research at Texas A&M University, the answer to that…is no.

“That’s the short answer,” he told Vox. “The long answer is we don’t know. We have two eyewitness accounts describing Thanksgiving, and they were not interested in describing the food. The only thing we know for certain that they ate was venison.”

So, if turkey likely didn’t make an appearance all those years ago, why has it become a staple in our modern Thanksgiving? Bickham tells us on this week’s episode of Explain It to Me, Vox’s weekly call in podcast. Below is an excerpt of........

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