Thanksgiving Survival Guide
What does setting a turkey on fire have to do with bed bugs? Both threaten to ruin our Thanksgiving. See how associations use the holiday to get out their messages, while saving a few of us.
Thanksgiving is the leading day of the year for home fires involving cooking equipment. The National Fire Protection Association discourages cooks from using outdoor gas-fueled turkey fryers. But isn’t turkey (and anything else) cooked in hot oil so good? Yes, until the five gallons of oil at about 350-degrees spills or splashes or when the fryer tips over. The Quincy, Mass.-based association also distributes a Thanksgiving Safety sheet and this video, telling cooks to stay in the kitchen when they’re cooking on the stovetop, check the turkey frequently, and keep kids 3 feet away from the stove.
If you’re not headed to grandma’s house and staying in a hotel instead, National Pest Management Association public affairs VP Missy Henriksen has two words for you: bed bugs. A recent industry survey found that 75% of pest professionals treat bed bugs in hotels, 21% treat them on public transportation, and 2% on planes. The Fairfax, Va.-based organization has some tips for dealing with that triple threat: Inspect hotel bed sheets and mattresses, put luggage in a plastic trash bag during the stay, and inspect luggage before bringing it back into the home.
AAA famously announces travel predictions for Thanksgiving every year; the organization says 1.1 million Washington area residents are traveling by vehicle to their destinations tomorrow. (Nationwide, 41.3 million people will be on the roads.) AAA is predicting peak congestion on DC metro roads and ones that take people out of the region, including Maryland's Bay Bridge, to be afternoon hours on the day before Thanksgiving and the Saturday and Sunday after the holiday. Wednesday will also the wettest, so the organization is telling people to wait until the wintry mix passes before traveling.
The skies will be even more crowded. The US Travel Association released its “Thanksgiving in the Skies” study a few days ago to warn travelers that 30 of the busiest US airports will feel like the Wednesday before Thanksgiving at least one day per week for the next few years. And 22 of them will feel like that two days per week. Air travel is forecasted to grow from 826 million travelers to 950 million. US Travel Association president/CEO Roger Dow says the economy is impacted by air travel systems not being able to keep up with demand and urged lawmakers to invest in travel infrastructure.
