"How long does it take to microwave a 25-pound turkey?"

For those of you on social media, you may have seen instances of grown children texting a question to their parents or grandparents, "How long does it take to microwave a 25-pound turkey?" and posting the responses.

Many of the responses indicate that you cannot microwave a turkey, but Butterball says otherwise:

https://www.southernthing.com/butterball-experts-say-you-can-microwave-a-thanksgiving-turkey-even-if-itll-horrify-your-elders-2620885698.html

I remember when microwave ovens were relatively new, we got one for our Mom. It was a pretty large one (I guess they all were then), and for a holiday (either Thanksgiving or Christmas), Mom decided to try microwaving the turkey. The issue was not so much on how long to cook it, but how big the turkey could be... and not so much weight as dimensions. What I remember is that, for some reason, my Dad was sent to the grocery store to get the turkey - I can't imagine why, he didn't do the grocery shopping. But, Mom had put the planned baking dish into the microwave and carefully measured the maximum dimensions, the most critical one being from the dish to the top of the oven, that would be required to have it fit. I am pretty sure even the very large microwave that we had then would not have been able to fit the "25-pound turkey" within the inside configuration of the oven.

I have this minds-eye picture of my Dad at the grocery store with his metal measuring tape sizing up the various frozen turkeys that just makes me grin!

If you read the article about microwaving a turkey - note that it indicates that you start the bird breast side down and then flip it when it is about half baked - that component is also in my mind... imagine "flipping" a 12-14 pound turkey! I don't remember how Mom did it, but I remember analyzing how it could be accomplished.

I'll bet that turkey was cooked and eaten 40 years ago, and it still brings a smile to my face!