The Daily Valet. - 11/23/22, Wednesday
✔️ The Real Thanksgiving
A programming note ... our regularly scheduled newsletters return on Monday. But our team of editors will be collecting all the best Black Friday sales, and will send them to Daily Valet. subscribers over the long weekend.
Wednesday, November 23rd Edition
By Cory Ohlendorf, Valet. Editor
I'll eat some turkey out of obligation, but I'm here for the stuffing, okay?
Today’s Big Story
The Real Thanksgiving
We All know it's mythologized. But do you know which parts?
Are you ready for Turkey Day? A day of gratitude, a day of feasting and a day for friends and family. At least, that's what it should be, right? But for many of us it's about travel headaches, awkward conversations or debating whether it's worth braving the crowds to do some early shopping.But what is the real Thanksgiving story? Sure, the tradition is based on a 1621 harvest feast shared by the Pilgrims of Plymouth and the native Wampanoag people. But we also know that's the over-simplified version. So in an effort to give you some dinner table fodder, let's dig into the real story a bit deeper.For instance, did you know that lobster, deer and swans were on the Pilgrims' menu? After being taught by the Wampanoag tribe to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants, the Pilgrims were able to thrive and organized a celebratory feast during harvest. According to History.com, many of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods.Of course, this wasn't the first time the indigenous people encountered European settlers. The Wampanoag were cautious about allying with the Pilgrims. But they arrived as families, with women and children, which suggested that they were more interested in peace than the all-male contingents of fishers and traders they had met before. In fact, the reason why a member of the tribe spoke English was because he'd been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland.In another oversimplification of the myth? The hats are all wrong too. Remember the black buckled hats and feathered headdresses we cut out from construction paper? Turns out, the English and Dutch settlers of the time did occasionally wear tall hats (they just never had buckles). And feathered war bonnets were only worn in the Great Plains, not the area we now call New England.Did you know that the Pilgrims held their second Thanksgiving celebration in 1623 to mark the end of a long drought? But we have Franklin D. Roosevelt to thank for making Thanksgiving the second to last Thursday in November—he moved the holiday up a week in an attempt to spur retail sales during the Great Depression.
Eat too much?:
A gastroenterologist explains how to manage symptoms like bloating and heartburn during the biggest food holiday of the year.
Trump Has a Very Bad Legal Day
The former president FaceS some serious legal setbacks on Tuesday, in various cases
If there's one thing you can say about Donald Trump, it's that the man is litigious. He's not one to shy away from a court battle. In fact, he's usually a whiz at playing the courts, but it hasn't been working out for him lately. According to Politico, the sheer volume of threats—both criminal and civil—have put Trump in a vise unlike any he's faced before.On Tuesday, the Supreme Court put years of Trump's tax returns in the hands of House Democrats. And a three-judge appeals court panel—which included two of Trump's own appointees—appeared ready to rule resoundingly in favor of the Justice Department, in a case involving its seizure of classified documents from Mar-a-Lago. That, of course, would free up a deeper investigation into his handling of the material.In New York, a state judge set an October 2023 trial date for the attorney general's $250 million lawsuit against the former president, his eldest children and the Trump Organization. That means Trump will testify under oath about whether he and his company fraudulently inflated the value of assets for financial gain—right before he asks voters to elect him again as president in the 2024 primary elections.
By the Numbers:
Nearly 6 in 10 Americans said it is a bad thing that Trump is running for president again, while just 34% said it is a good thing.
Christmas Trees Will Cost More
But only if you want the real ones
In news that will shock no one by now, the prices for fresh-cut Christmas trees will be going up this year. Yes, again. A survey by the Real Christmas Tree Board found that the majority of tree growers cited a wholesale price increase of 5% to 15% compared to last year.But even with the price hikes, Americans are ready and willing to spend more for a Christmas tree in 2022. Indeed, according to a survey by Trees.com, more Americans plan to buy real Christmas trees this year as compared to last year—and nearly one in five (18%) are willing to pay $200 or more for their live tree.If you're actually looking to save a little money, you should look for an artificial tree. Because while the real thing is going up in price, the artificial variety—which are actually fine for the environment as long as you reuse them—are already discounted. And for about the price of a real tree, you could get a similar artificial option that would last you years.
FYI:
According to the National Christmas Tree Association, 25 to 30 million live trees are harvested annually from a crop of about 350 million trees in farms across the U.S.
FDA Approves Lab-Grown Meat
The “no kill” product cultivated from animal cells could soon be sold in restaurants
For the first time, the Food and Drug Administration is giving the green light to meat grown in a laboratory. The agency said that a “cultivated chicken” product made by California start-up, Upside Foods, is safe to eat.Upside Foods was co-founded by Uma Valeti, a cardiologist who dreamt of producing meat in a different way. Instead of raising livestock on farms and killing them in slaughterhouses, Valeti wanted to find a way to “grow” meat in a production facility, by culturing animal cells. According to Upside, cells from a single chicken allow for the cultivation of the same amount of poultry that now comes from hundreds of thousands of farmed birds.The chicken can't be sold quite yet—first, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will need to inspect the company's production facilities and product. But industry experts anticipate the USDA will approve the meat in the coming months. And while some might be squeamish about lab-grown meat, advocates argue that it's often far better than the factory farmed meat many of us already eat.
Meanwhile:
A new study suggests that HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol is less beneficial than we previously thought.
In Other News
While lawsuits on the loan relief program play out.
Have you heard about ...
Partner
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Shop the Sale:
Morning Motto
Be patient. Even when tested.
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