People have been eating poultry for a very long time, and there’s no definitive origin story of the Thanksgiving tradition of breaking a turkey wishbone. But the one that has gained the most traction over the years involves the people of an ancient Italian civilization called Etruria, and dates back roughly 2,400 years.
The Etruscans considered hens to be something like oracles. So when they killed one, they’d take out the hen’s collarbone and dry it in the sun. To continue to reap the benefits of the prophetic poultry, the Etruscans would then take the wishbone and stroke it while making a wish. For a while, no wishbones were broken or harmed for the purpose of bringing good fortune or wish fulfillment.
But about 200 years later, the Romans came to town and adopted many Etruscan customs. Thanks to Roman writings, we know that by this point, the Etruscans had moved on from stroking to snapping the wishbone—a shift they attributed to supply and demand. As it turned out, a lot of Etruscans want their wishes granted, but only one bone in a hen’s body offers that opportunity: the V-shaped wishbone, which they thought looked like a human crotch (so, a source of life and pleasure). Without enough bones to go around, they doubled up; pairs made a wish then cracked the bone.
