White House creates Facebook poll to pick Thanksgiving turkey

by Justin Sink - 11/20/12 5:43 PM ET

{mosads}Users can vote for their favorite by “liking” a graphic about the bird on the social networking site.

The turkey pardon is a Thanksgiving tradition that harkens back to Abraham Lincoln, who, according to legend, wrote out a presidential pardon for a turkey at the insistence of his son, Tad Lincoln.

Presidents Kennedy and Nixon also made a point of returning turkeys presented to the White House to either their original farms or local petting zoos, and President George H.W. Bush became the first president to formally announce the turkey pardon during the 1989 turkey presentation.

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