A few days ago I found myself pulling apart the remains of a cooked chicken here at Struan Farm, coming across the "wishbone." It prompted me to ask John if his family used to dry them and play "make a wish." Two people would hold onto either side, making wishes. The person who snapped the longer piece got her wish. If it snapped in half they both did. Yes, they did.
It turns out that this tradition of bird bones as oracle dates back to the Etruscans, who believed birds had the ability to predict future events after witnessing migrating geese. The Romans then introduced the practice as they travelled throughout Europe. The English adopted it, and the Pilgrims brought it across to Thanksgiving in the United States. Sometime in the 1800's the term "wishbone" was coined.
Quite an historic little bone this.
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