Holiday crowd Googling ‘thanksgiving quotes’ to use at family dinners

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Coming up with things to say during a toast at a family dinner is a perenially difficult chore -- especially if you want to avoid the well-worn cliches. So if in doubt about what you’re going to say, why not go to the world’s greatest suggestion generator?

It seems many Americans are doing just that. Google’s Hot Trends, the feature of the search engine that tracks the searches people are performing with unusual intensity, is showing widespread searching for phrases like ‘thanksgiving quotes,’ ‘thanksgiving wishes,’ ‘thankful quotes,’ ‘thanksgiving message’ and ‘thanksgiving sayings.’

It’s not cheating, it’s just ... research.

But does the mighty Internet yield much in the way of quality fodder for turkey day speeches? Well, it seems that Web denizens out there picked up on the demand for grateful quotations a while ago, because there is no shortage of Web pages laden with suggestions -- some silly, some apt, and some simply inappropriate.

For those looking to sprinkle in some historical-sounding information, one popular page lists the following on top:

‘The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. -- H.U. Westermayer.’

Or for a more standup-comedy type approach:

‘What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving? -- Erma Bombeck.’

Quote quality runs the gamut, so be careful: On a site for news on the island of Mauritius that comes up among the top searches for ‘thanksgiving wishes,’ some of the suggestions might not fly at the dinner table:

“The gratitude of most men is but a secret desire of receiving greater benefits.” –Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld

“What soon grows old? Gratitude.” – Aristotle

Then there are some, like the following, that sum it up quite nicely -- and could be adapted for use in your local dining room...

‘To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven. -- Johannes A. Gaertner

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-- David Sarno

Image credit: Turtlemom4bacon / Flickr