Origins & Expert Tips to Win the Wishbone.

It’s that time of year to start fighting over who gets to pull the wishbone and get the wish! Did you know the origins date back well before the first Thanksgiving? Learn the wishbone history, plus be the winner in this year’s wishbone competition!

What is the Wishbone?

The wishbone, technically known as the furcula, is the forked bone located between the neck and the breast of a bird that fuses the two clavicles together.

In terms of kitchen practicality, removing the wishbone actually makes it easier to carve the bird – so take note of that when you carve a turkey or chicken.

Wishbone History

Etruscans, Chickens with Oracle Power
Wishbones and their fortune date as far back as 800 BC. The Etruscans from Ancient Italy practiced bird divination in which they laid the wishbone under the sun and people would touch it to gain the chicken’s oracle power and have their wishes granted.

 
Ancient Romans, Symbol of Luck
Romans took on some of the Etruscans’ cultural traditions including the wishbone wishing which they found to be a symbol of luck.

They adapted the tradition to have two people making a wish, snap apart the wishbone, and the person with the longer piece would have good fortune or the wish granted. If evenly cracked in half, both would have their wishes come true. This tradition continues to live on.

The Romans eventually brought this practice as they traveled through Europe, including to the British Isles.

 
The English and the Merrythought
The first records of the wishbone in British documents date to 1455 in which a goose’s wishbone is used. The English called it “merrythought” because if broken between two single people, the person who got the longer side would marry first.

 
The Pilgrims and the American Tradition
A few centuries later, the pilgrims brought the wishbone tradition to the turkeys of the Americas and it then became an American tradition. The term “wishbone” was finally dubbed in the U.S. in 1842.

Expert Tips to Win the Wishbone

1. Dry the bone completely so it will be brittle to snap. Best done a few days later.
2. Dry your hands.
3. Hold the wishbone in your dominant hand.
4. Choose the thicker side of the bone.
5. Place your thumb and forefinger as close as possible to the base and center.
6. Steady your feet on the ground and prepare to stand still.
7. Let your opponent do the work.
8. Wish granted.
 
 

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