Enjoy these math problems with your students. Want to learn more? Check out the Guinness site.
Largest gathering of people dressed as turkeys
Pictured above, the largest gathering of people dressed as turkeys (above) is 661 and was accomplished at the 44th Annual Capital One Bank Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot in Dallas, Texas, USA on 24 November 2011.
If your school or classroom wanted to beat this record, how many more people would you need to recruit?
Fastest Time to Pluck a Turkey
The fastest time to pluck three turkeys is 11 min 30.16 sec and was achieved by Paul Kelly (United Kingdom) of Kelly Turkey Farms, at Little Claydon Farm, Essex, United Kingdom, on 13 November 2008. This was attempted as part of Gordon Ramsay’s Cookalong and Paul went head to head against Gordon Ramsay, who plucked three turkeys in 11 min 31.78 sec.
What was the average time to pluck a single turkey?
Answer: 3 min. 50.053 sec.
Largest pumpkin pie
The largest pumpkin pie weighs 1,678 kg (3,699 lb) and was made by New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers (USA) at New Bremen Pumpkinfest in New Bremen, Ohio, USA, on 25 September 2010. The diameter of the pie was 6 m (20 ft), and the crust was made of 440 sheets of dough. (Other ingredients included canned pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin spice.)
If the average slice of pie were 1/5 of a pound how many people could you feed with this pie?
Answer: 18,495 pieces of pie!
Largest inflatable parade
One of America’s favorite Thanksgiving traditions, the Macy’s Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, New York, USA, is the world’s largest inflatable parade. The parade features 30 larger-than-life balloon characters and millions of spectators lining the streets and watching on television. The inflatable characters included Big Bird (63ft x28ft x 46ft and 468lbs) and Curious George (46ft x 30.3ft x57ft and 433lb). Once in the sky, balloons can reach up to five stories (60 ft) into the air.
How much taller is Big Bird compared to Curious George? How much heavier?
Answer: Big Bird’s balloon is 17 feet taller and 35 pounds heavier.
Heaviest turkey
The greatest dressed weight recorded for a turkey is 39.09 kg (86 lb) for a stag named Tyson reared by Philip Cook of Leacroft Turkeys Ltd, Peterborough, United Kingdom. It won the last annual `heaviest turkey’ competition, held in London on 12 December 1989, and was auctioned for charity for a record £4400 (then $6,692)
How much did the buyers of the record turkey pay per pound in US dollars? How much per kg in British pounds?
Answer: $77.81 per pound, £112.56 per kg.