SOMETHING WISHBONEY THIS WAY COMES

(See added bulletin at the end of this post.*)

The competitive event on Thanksgiving! What is your family tradition surrounding the pulling of the turkey wishbone and making a wish? Who gets to pull it? Do you wait a week for it to dry or pull it on Thanksgiving day? It is always the one with the larger portion of the wishbone that wins. How should you grasp the wishbone? Some only use their pinkies to hold it, while others grasp it in a fist (cheaters!) or some will simply hold the ends tightly with two fingers. Are you as rude as my (39 year old) son when you win by laughing hysterically and dancing around with the big half of the wishbone chanting "I won! I won!".

Our California daughter Terri refuses to pull a wishbone because she fears losing and says she can't afford to waste her wishes.

I thought the following scientific explanation was interesting.

Why does the wishbone break in one spot rather than two spots?


That happens because the wishbone is not uniform in strength and size. Once the strength of the wishbone is exceeded in one spot, it will break there. Any stresses due to bending will be relieved throughout the rest of the bone once it is in two pieces (it is no longer being bent once it breaks).

If you are asking how you get an advantage to get the big piece of the wishbone, I suppose the most reliable way is to examine the wishbone before trying to break it. Stick with whichever side appears to be thickest/strongest.

*BULLETIN: I may have lost the wishbone pull but look at my sidebar to see the prize I won in Katherine Plummer's art giveaway. I was thrilled!