Friday’s Food for Thought: Thanksgiving

Need a turkey at the last minute? Or need to pick up a bottle of wine for the hostess on your way to Thanksgiving dinner? Google recently added a holiday hours feature to Google Maps and Google Search tools to make Thanksgiving planning a little easier. Holiday store hours are now available when searching for a business on Google within seven days of a major holiday.

Google also released Google Maps traffic information to help drivers plan their Thanksgiving travels. Using 2014 data from Android phones enabled with location services in 21 U.S. cities, Google Maps suggests the Tuesday before Thanksgiving is the best time to hit the road. The same data concluded the Wednesday before Thanksgiving was the worst travel day of the year.

But after Google helps you arrive in a timely fashion, what will you eat? The New York Times mapped the most Google-searched dishes during the week of Thanksgiving in 2014. From collard greens in Virginia to persimmon bread in California, their map reveals dishes unique to those locations. Some of the most popular foods include frog eye salad in the West, snicker salad in the Midwest, and pumpkin whoopie pies in New England.

If you plan to brave the crowds on Black Friday, shopping at Walmart and Target just got a little easier. Both retailers added store maps to their websites and mobile apps so shoppers can easily find items at their local store. For a faster and easier shopping experience, download Target and Walmart’s mobile apps via the iTunes and Google Play stores.

Photo Credit: The New York Times