Welcome to the Prince William County 3rd Annual Turkey Drop!
In the infamous Turkey Drop Episode of WKRP in Cincinatti that aired on Oct. 30, 1978, "The Big Guy" launched a Thanksgiving Radio Promotion to give away Turkeys to fans for Thanksgiving. The idea was to toss the birds from a helicopter into the awaiting crowd below. Since Turkeys don't fly, this large Turkey giveaway turned to a mass bombing of the awaiting bird lovers.
In the spirit of that episode NoVAGO cachers have agreed to drop turkey caches in the Prince William County and Manassas areas with a code word inside that can be used to locate the bonus cache! Find all of these turkey caches to unlock the coordinates for the Third Annual Turkey Drop Bonus!
Who knew there was such an interesting history surrounding the beginnings of the turkey TV Dinner!! And all because of a catastrophically unsuccessful Thanksgiving holiday!
In early 1953, after low Thanksgiving bird sales, Swanson found itself with some 520,000 pounds—or 260 tons—of leftover turkeys. To keep them from thawing and going bad, Swanson placed the frozen fowl in 10 refrigerated railway cars. And since the cars’ refrigeration only worked when the vehicles were moving, the company shuttled the trains back and forth between its Nebraska headquarters and the East coast while executives desperately brainstormed solutions.
It was then that Swanson introduced the first-ever TV dinner featuring a compartmentalized aluminum tray with sections for meat, vegetables, and dessert. The first Swanson-brand TV Dinner was produced in the United States and consisted of a Thanksgiving meal of turkey, cornbread stuffing, frozen peas and sweet potatoes packaged in a tray like those used at the time for airline food service. Each item was placed in its own compartment.
This revolutionary concept soon gained popularity, and TV dinners became a convenient choice for busy households. The idea for the name "TV dinner" was brought about after Gilbert Swanson was hosting a party where guests were balancing food on their laps while watching TV.
Whether it's a turkey TV dinner, a fried turkey, or a traditionally cooked bird, I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Don't forget to note the code on the log in order to find the bonus cache!