A Thanksgiving scareSourced
Cranberries vanished
from the president's table.
In 1959, an herbicide was detected in some U.S. cranberry shipments shortly before Thanksgiving, triggering a nationwide scare. President Eisenhower's holiday dinner served applesauce instead of cranberry sauce.
One announcement changed
a holiday staple.
Summary / translation: Unbubly · CC BY-SA 4.0
Source and reuse details
Cranberry scare of 1959 · Wikimedia contributors
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-01