Turkey squawkers are those great things that elementary schoolchildren in America make, traditionally, the week before school lets out for Thanksgiving. If you have the misfortune not to have experienced American Thanksgiving with a small child, this Entry will make more sense when you know that the Turkey Squawker vaguely resembles a turkey in that it has feathers and makes a noise. There the resemblance ends.It is suspected that someone invented these handy things to drive parents mad during the week of Thanksgiving. The turkey is the traditional meat of the Thanksgiving celebration.

Instructions

You will need:

• coloured construction paper
• a plastic cup
• about 50cm of string (preferably something similar to nylon cord)
• glue
• a small piece of sponge

Cut out some 'feathers' from the construction paper in shades of brown, red, yellow, and orange for a classic-looking turkey. For a more psychedelic turkey, colours such as green, blue, purple, or pink may be used. Also, cut out a small triangle for a beak.

Take the plastic cup (red and yellow are good for the classic turkey) and poke a small hole in the bottom of the cup. Thread the string through the hole and tie a knot so that, when the cup is held upside-down, the string hangs from the inside.

Set the cup on a table so that the bottom is facing up, and glue the paper feathers along the edge. Glue the beak to the side opposite the fan of feathers and get ready for action.

When the feathers and beak have dried, dampen your sponge and wrap it around the string. Pull down on the string and a 'squawk' should be produced. If your sponge is too wet, you will make an awful mess, but you won't get any sound if the sponge is too dry.

Enjoy!