Catch ODD NEWS each hour 2p-7p weekdays with Chris Marino on Q92!
The Annual Thanksgiving Dinner Breakdown Says Dinner Should Cost You Less Than $5 Per Person
Apparently, if you spend more than fifty bucks on Thanksgiving dinner this year, you've been taken for a ride?
The American Farm Bureau Federation just released its 33rd annual study on how much it should cost to serve Thanksgiving dinner this year.
And they say that you should be able to serve dinner for 10 people for just $48.90, or less than $5 per person.
That's based on serving these 10 things: Turkey . . . stuffing . . . sweet potatoes . . . rolls with butter . . . peas . . . cranberries . . . a veggie tray . . . pumpkin pie with whipped cream . . . milk . . . and coffee.
The $48.90 total cost is down 22 cents from last year, mostly thanks to slightly lower prices for turkey.
For the first time ever, the study also added some new optional foods this year: Ham . . . Russet potatoes . . . and green beans. If you also serve those, it will add $12.82, taking you up to $61.72 for the meal.
(FB.org)
(On a related note, the TSA is reminding people they CAN fly with Thanksgiving foods . . . but things like gravy and cranberry sauce count as liquids, so you should put those in your checked bag.)
Seven Thanksgiving Cooking Hazards . . . and How to Avoid Them
Thanksgiving is next week, so here are seven cooking hazards you should be aware of . . . and how to avoid them.
1. Salmonella. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already announced a salmonella outbreak linked to undercooked turkey. So it's even more important that you wash your hands EVERY time you touch raw turkey.
Even rinsing the bird in the sink can be dangerous, because you can spray turkey juice around. So disinfect anything that comes in contact with the turkey before it's cooked.
2. Defrosting the turkey. The safest way to defrost the turkey is in the refrigerator, that way it's always kept under 40 degrees. And when it's defrosting, make sure it's in a container that won't leak, and place it at the bottom of the fridge so no juice drips onto other food in the fridge.
3. Stuffing. If you like to cook stuffing IN the bird, put it in a pan after the turkey is done and place it back in the oven until it reaches 165 degrees. That way there's no undercooked turkey juices in it. Of course, you can also cook it entirely separately too.
4. Knife injuries. Get your knives sharpened this weekend, before you need to use them. You'd think a sharp edge makes it more likely to cut yourself, but it's actually the opposite because knives slip more when they're not sharp.
5. Burns. If you're working over the stove, be careful with long sleeves, jewelry, or anything that could catch on the side of a pan and pull it off the stove. Also, keep a fire extinguisher under your sink just in case.
6. Leaving food out. It's something we don't really think about on Thanksgiving, but leaving food out at room temperature for more than two hours can be dangerous. Instead, you can put food out a little at a time or reheat it throughout the day. Just set your oven to low and rotate in the cooked food to keep it hot.
7. Reheating leftovers. In general, make sure any leftovers are heated to 165 degrees to kill any bacteria. If you don't have a thermometer, just make sure your food is steaming hot before you eat it.
(People)
Remember the Couple Who Raised $400,000 For a Homeless Guy Who Helped Them Get Gas? Yeah, It Was All a Scam
Right around this time last year, a story went viral out of Philadelphia.
A woman named Kate McClure ran out of gas in Philadelphia in the middle of the night and she didn't have any cash. And a homeless guy named Johnny Bobbitt walked to the gas station and used HIS last $20 to help her out.
So Kate and her husband Mark D'Amico set up a GoFundMe to thank him . . . and it wound up raising $400,000. A pretty great, heartwarming story, right? Well, we should've all known better.
It turns out the three of them came up with the story together as a way to scam people out of money.
Apparently Kate and Mark met Johnny about a month earlier, and then they met up with him a few times and gave him some money . . . and they all came up with the story together. And Kate and Mark were also hoping to land a book deal out of it.
Now they're all facing criminal charges of conspiracy and theft by deception. Kate and Mark turned themselves in on Wednesday . . . and Johnny was arrested later that night.