Honestly, just enjoy the pie. . .

Giving thanks for strange doings on Thanksgiving Day 2024

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Thanksgiving pies, three years ago

Dr. Herman Pontzer, evolutionary anthropologist at Duke’s Global Health Institute, interviewed by the Washington Post‘s Gretchen Reynolds here, had this to say about our national feast.

“. . .[W]hat’s really amazing about Thanksgiving. . . is that we all sit around and share food. It’s the strangest thing we do.”

Strange how?

“No other ape shares like we do. It’s anomalous in the natural world. But we do it every day. And whenever there’s a big moment to celebrate, we do it by sharing food. So Thanksgiving is, in my mind, the ultimate human-evolution holiday. You’ve got hunted meat. You’ve got gathered plant foods. You’ve got language happening. You’ve got tools. You share this bounty with your extended family and friends, your kin group. What other celebration puts human evolution on display like that? So, of course, we should be aware of the health aspects. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that, in humans, food is a social bond, and especially on Thanksgiving. Maybe give yourself one day to focus on that aspect and not worry too much about the calories. It’s okay, honestly, to just enjoy the pie.”

Shaker lemon pie but you can’t see the lemons