THANKSGIVING

NPR - People are expected to spend a record of up to $989 billion this holiday season. Higher prices explain some of the higher spending, but it's not the whole story. A greater share of people also plan to splurge this holiday season, according to a survey by market research firm Circana. Here's what to expect from this year's Black Friday and holiday shopping season.

NPR  - You might remember "Buy Nothing Day" as an anti-consumerist stunt from the early 2000s that featured participants wearing zombie costumes and conga lines of empty shopping carts. At its core, however, the concept is a boycott of Black Friday. Started by the group Adbusters, Buy Nothing Day was intended to be a 24-hour period in which individuals refrain from making purchases as a personal stand against unsustainable consumption. One reason Buy Nothing Day failed to catch on was that it faced backlash in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. During that time, national sentiment suggested that shopping could be an act of patriotism — a way to boost the economy and therefore beef up America's stature in a burgeoning war against terrorism.

These days, Buy Nothing Day still exists, but the more mainstream distillation of the idea endures in the Buy Nothing Project. Millions of people participate in the series of community-centered giveaway groups powered by Facebook and, more recently, an app. If you want to break the buying trend, check out some options for meaningful gift-giving from NPR's Life Kit.

Interesting Facts - For many of us, the day after Thanksgiving is primarily known as Black Friday — the kick-start to the winter holiday shopping season. But for workers in one industry, it goes by a slightly different moniker: Brown Friday. The nickname comes from the high number of service calls plumbers receive the day after a holiday that strains people's waistbands and kitchen sinks. Many plumbers say that Friday following Thanksgiving is twice as busy as any other day of the year.

While Brown Friday gets its unappealing name from the sewage byproducts workers are often hired to handle, many plumbers report that service calls for bathroom fixes aren’t as common on that day. Instead, kitchen sinks, garbage disposals, and drains are the top offenders (though plumbers acknowledge that having more guests does put additional pressure on a home’s wastewater system). Most post-Thanksgiving plumbing issues stem from two culprits: grease and potato peels. Hot grease washed down sink drains eventually cools and solidifies, leading to buildup that can plug pipes. And when a massive heap of starchy potato peels makes its way down a partially clogged pipe, the grease and peels can congeal to create a kitchen nightmare. Fortunately, experts say there’s an easy way to prevent a Thanksgiving catastrophe: Toss meats, bones, and stringy or dense foods like those potato peels into the trash can instead of down the sink.