The White House has launched an online campaign which enables the public to use use social media to vote which of two turkeys will receive the public Presidential pardon tomorrow in celebration of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Presidential Pardon

Every year the President of the United States pardons a turkey and gives a speech about the meaning of Thanksgiving, and the turkey is sent to a farm to live out the rest of its days. In keeping with tradition, every year the National Turkey Federation provides the White House with two turkey candidates for the pardon and one is chosen to participate in the ceremony. Deciding factors include skittishness, general appearance, fluffiness, and so on.

This year, the White House has decided to leave the fate of the two turkeys, dubbed Caramel and Popcorn, up to the national public, in a competition they are calling “The Gobble.”

Caramel vs. Popcorn

People can vote by liking a turkey’s page on Facebook or by Tweeting with #TeamCaramel or #TeamPopcorn. The official website conveniently places each bird and their stats in a side-by-side comparison.

For example, Caramel, who walks with a “steady and deliberate” step, weighs 38 lbs and 4 oz and stands at 2 feet tall.

In contrast, Popcorn who walks with a “proud strut,” weights 37 lbs and 6 ounces and stands at only 1 foot, 11 inches tall.

The stats also state their favorite songs – Caramel loves Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” while Popcorn enjoys the less frantic “Halo” by Beoyoncé – and features recordings of their ‘gobbles’ for comparison.

People on Twitter immediately became concerned that the White House would only be pardoning one turkey, leaving the loser to be sent to its death, but the White House official website rushed in to assure the public that both turkeys will be spared. The contest is just to pick which turkey, Popcorn or Caramel, will be pardoned in a live broadcast.

“Both turkeys will be pardoned, but only the American people will decide which bird takes the title,” reads the website description.

For those skeptics out there wondering how in the world these two turkeys could possibly have favorite songs, according to an interview with John Burkel, this year’s National Turkey Federation chairman in charge of delivering the turkeys to the White House, he put his turkeys through a rigorous training regimen. To determine which two turkeys should be eligible for a Presidential Pardon, turkeys were subjected constant auditory stimulus (music) or being carried and placed on a table, to see which turkeys remained most calm. Burkel says he did this to avoid any turkey-related catastrophes that could get in the way of the Presidential photo-op.

Burkel, armed with a radio – and a 17-year-old daughter’s playlist – exposed the turkeys to everything from John Mayer to classical music, including Lady Gaga and Beyoncé.

“The first time there was a Beyoncé song in there [“Halo”] there was something about when it started, they gobbled…But then they get used to it and they don’t anymore,” Burkel told the Wall Street Journal.

President Obama, who has not publicly endorsed a turkey in “The Gobble” showdown, will pardon the winning turkey tomorrow, Wednesday Nov. 27. Voting in “The Gobble” will close tonight, Tuesday Nov. 26, at 8 p.m. E.S.T.

#TeamCaramel vs. #TeamPopcorn

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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