A popular Thanksgiving turkey riddle is:
Q: Why do turkeys always go “Gobble! Gobble!”?
A: Because they never learned good table manners.
The “gobble” joke has been cited in print since at least 1996.
Google Groups: schl.sig.lmnet
Thanksgiving riddles
Madelynne Johnson
11/16/96
LMNETters,
1. Why do turkeys always go “gobble, gobble”? They never learned good table manners
28 November 1996, St. Petersburg (FL) Times, “Talkin’ Turkey” by Janet K, Keeler, pg. 1D:
The World Wide Web is awash with Thanksgiving sites. The kids might get a kick out of some of the activities at http://www.night. net/thanksgiving/ including games, trivia and jokes (Why do turkeys gobble? Because they never learn good table manners).
Google Groups: ott.singles
Turkey Humour! (side note: alcohol is involved)
Amanda
12/2/98
(...)
Why do turkeys always go, “Gobble, gobble?”
Because they never learned good table manners!
22 November 1999, Atlanta (GA) Constitution, “Check It Out, pg. C8:
Why do turkeys go gobble gobble? Because they never learned good table manners! (Hee hee!)
Google Books
Bulletin Board Power:
Bridges to Lifelong Learning
By Karen Hawthorne and Jane E. Gibson
Greenwood Village, CO: Libraries Unlimited
2002
Pg. 21:
Q: Why do turkeys always go “Gobble, gobble”?
A: Because they never learned good table manners!
Twitter
Micki
@MickiNelson
Why do turkeys always go ‘gobble! gobble!’? Because they never learned good table manners! Happy holiday y’all!
3:07 PM - 21 Nov 2007
Google Books
The Everything Big Book of Jokes:
Hundreds of the Shortest, Longest, Silliest, Smartest, Most Hilarious Jokes You’ve Never Heard!
By Evan C. Thomas
Avon, MA: Adams Media
2014
Pg. 196:
WHY DO TURKEYS GOBBLE?
BECAUSE they never learned table manners.
Google Books
The Super, Epic, Mega Joke Book for Kids
By Whee Winn
Grand Rapids, MI: Zonderkidz
2016
Pg. ?:
Why do turkeys gobble?
Because they never learned their table manners.
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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