“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.” ~ Reba McEntire (Photo by Calle Eklund)

How about some turkey trivia? Americans consume over 675 million pounds of turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Sleepy after your big Thanksgiving meal? Turkey contains an amino acid called “Tryptophan”. Tryptophan sets off a chemical chain reaction that calms you down and makes you sleepy. The wishbone is a tradition of Thanksgiving. Allow the wishbone to dry. Then, two people grasp each end of the wishbone. After making a silent wish, they pull it away. Whoever gets the joint portion, gets their wish.

Today’s guest is Jeff Firman. He’s an animal scientist and poultry expert for University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. Raising turkeys is a challenge because while breeding them for plump, tasty meat, their brains were short-changed.