A Thanksgiving meal like you’ve never had http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-turkpop16.html The History Channel: Thanksgiving http://www.historychannel.com/thanksgiving/ Thanksgiving Recipes http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=13972 Teaching about Thanksgiving http://www.ewebtribe.com/NACulture/articles/thanksgiving.html#stereotypes Jones Soda Co. [Macromedia Flash Player] http://www.jonessoda.com/ As the last leaves find their way from their branches down to the ground below, many Americans begin to think about their Thanksgiving meals and their elaborate preparations. For some, these meals mean succulent turkey, small mountain ranges of mashed potatoes, and baked yams. For still others, it may mean a turkey substitute, a beet salad, and asparagus spears. Relatively few people think of consuming a Thanksgiving dinner through a straw, but thanks to the inventive folks at a Seattle-based soda company, they can do just that. The company is offering two five-pack soda kits (complete with a serving spoon and moistened toilette) that contain such mouth-watering flavors as herb stuffing, turkey, and smoked salmon pate. The company president, Peter van Stolk, first envisioned the concept during a road trip in 2003, and figured that establishing a bulkhead on the meat-flavored soda niche market might be a shrewd idea. When asked about the flavor of the salmon soda, van Stolk remarked that “I cannot finish a bottle, I just can’t.” He was even more passionate about the Brussels-sprouts flavored concoction, noting, “It’s horrible”. Regardless of van Stolk’s own sentiments, those seeking a way to avoid washing any of those pesky Thanksgiving dishes may be unusually attracted to this collection of beverages. The first link offered here will direct visitors to a news story offered by CNN-Money which discusses the rather novel approach to Thanksgiving created by the Jones Soda company. The second link will take users to a nice piece of reporting from the Chicago Sun-Times’ Janet Rausa Fuller, which includes the results of a taste-test of these unusual beverages from a troika of women who work at the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line. The third link leads to a special feature from The History Channel on the origins and myths associated with Thanksgiving. The fourth link leads to a clutch of classic Thanksgiving recipes offered by Readers Digest. The fifth link will take visitors to a rather intriguing educator’s guide to teaching young people about Thanksgiving from the state of Washington’s superintendent of public instruction. The final link will take visitors to the homepage of the Jones Soda Company. Here visitors can learn about their Thanksgiving Day “replacement” soda offerings, and a variety of other curious products, such as the “Strawberry Manilow” and “Berry White” drinks.