Only two kids even get to take a crack at it, and a winning side promises good luck and a wish granted. It's the wishbone, more formally known as the furcula — the point where turkey, duck, or chicken clavicles fuse above the sternum.
Ancient Etruscans prized the furcula and removed it whenever they slaughtered chickens. After drying it in the sun, the holder would stroke it while making a wish — thus the name "wishbone." The wishbone tradition carried over to the Romans, who passed it to the British. The tradition jumped the Atlantic with the Pilgrims, who were chronically low on good luck after their arrival at Plymouth Rock. Luck may have been in short supply, but wild turkeys weren't, and their wishbones became a popular good luck charm.
For modern American celebrations, here's how it usually goes: After you salvage the wishbone from the turkey, let it dry for a couple of days and become brittle. When the wishbone is ready, each person hooks a pinky around one side of the bone and pulls until the wishbone breaks, leaving just one lucky person with the bigger piece.
