This t-shirt of Princess Leia spinning at the Mos Eisley cantina can be had for very cheap this weekend. (Fashionably Geek)

So…remember the other day when we showed you a Hello Kitty plush that could turn into a cooked turkey? I didn’t think things could get weirder. (via BillyKitty123) 

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade has been a part of my life since before I can remember. I’ve always sort of took for granted the unusual nature of this particular American tradition but when you take a step back, you realize how truly odd it is. Since 1924, the department store has enlisted folks to hold on for dear life to giant balloons of pop-culture characters as they pull them down the streets of Manhattan to the awe of (usually) freezing crowds. Having lived in the New York area my entire life, I’m actually kind of ashamed I’ve never gone to see the parade in person but every year, without fail, I watch on TV. Here’s some shots of the parade from yesteryear. Take a moment to consider whether our modern balloons are less, more, or equally bizarre.

(via Facebook)

We all know cooking requires math (unless you’re my mother, in which case it’s “ohh, about this much salt, that much flour”) but have you ever thought of creating a meal revolving around math? Victoria Hart, aka Vi Hart, has done just that with some Thanksgiving themed videos. Watch here as she makes Mathed Potatoes and hit the jump for how to make Borromean Onion Rings and Green Bean Matherole.

Look, I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve got a strange imagination but I’d really like to meet the person who came up with this. It’s a Hello Kitty Reversible 8″ Plush: Turkey style. Yes, the thing on the left turns into the thing on the right. Want to see it in action? There’s a video after the jump.

Sarah Vowell, history geek humorist extraordinaire (and the voice of Violet Incredible), has a very important lesson on history that we have probably never really acknowledged in our lifetimes. As she described on The Daily Show — as its newly minted Senior Historical Context Correspondent — November 25 is Evacuation Day, the day that British troops finally left New York after the end of the Revolutionary War after imprisoning American POWs in prison ships where many, many, many of them died and/or ate maggots to survive. But the good news is that, as we all know, the British finally left in 1783, years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence and those surviving prisoners were freed! Some of us will be taking advantage of sales this Black Friday. But some of us will be celebrating history by not eating maggots.

(via Time)

Yesterday, during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Tim Burton made his debut as “parade balloon designer” and introduced his original character B. Boy to the all-star lineup. B. Boy was part of an artists series called the Blue Sky Gallery, a regular part of the parade that gives artists and creators the opportunity to make a balloon that sits just outside of the mainstream “cast” of balloons. (Past artists have included Keith Haring and Takashi Murakami.) According to the Macy’s team, Burton was always very high on the list for this. B. Boy was first featured at the Museum of Modern Art last spring, and that’s when the parade team starting courting Burton. More pics, behind the scenes video, and B. Boy’s origin story after the jump!

Curt Franklin and Chris Haley of Let’s Be Friends Againput together a very special series of Thanksgiving comics featuring several superheroes. Characters like Aquaman, Harley Quinn, Wolverine and Beast Boy tell us what they’re thankful for this year. Some of them may shock you but mostly they’ll just make you chuckle. What else did we see on this gobble gobble day… 

If you live in the U.S. (like the writers of The Mary Sue), then today you’re experiencing (maybe even celebrating!) Thanksgiving 2011. And whether you’re working through the day, or preparing to stuff yourself with the roasted flesh of an over-engineered domestic bird, or whatever your particular Turkey Day tradition is, we hope you’ll indulge us for a Power Grid while we talk about what we’re thankful for.

Okay, we’re veering away from total geekery for this one, but as one of our favorite non-geeky characters, we had to share this Thanksgiving-appropriate video featuring C.J. Cregg (played by Allison Janney) from The West Wing following through with her noble duty of choosing the turkey to be pardoned by the President of the United States Jed Bartlett (Martin Sheen). It’s not as easy as it sounds. Remember: When lifting a live turkey this Thanksgiving, support its hindquarters. Wherever they may be.

(via YouTube)