Pumpkin season is in full swing here in Maine and let me tell you Bob, I LOVE seeing porches decorated with them! If you love pumpkins as much as I do, you might find these 10 fun facts about pumpkins as interesting as I do.
Here we go!
10 Fun Facts About Pumpkins
1. 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins are grown each year. Yes, BILLION with 80 percent of the pumpkin crop in the U.S. available during October.
1. 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins are grown each year. Yes, BILLION with 80 percent of the pumpkin crop in the U.S. available during October.2. The tradition of carving pumpkins originated in Ireland. The Irish would carve jack-o-lanterns out of turnips to scare away evil spirits during the Celtic holiday Samhain, the night when spirits of the dead would walk the earth.
3. Pumpkins belong to the cucurbitacae family so their relatives are melons and cucumbers.
4. People used to believe that pumpkins had the ability to remove freckles and cure snake bites. Sad to think how they came to realize that they don’t actually help a snake bite!
5. Pumpkins may look all big and tough, but they are actually pretty delicate. Once they get bruised or the skin is punctured, bugs and organisms are quick to attack.
6. Each pumpkin has approximately 500 seeds {and they are sooo yummy roasted and actually contain more protein than peanuts}.
7. Antarctica is the only continent that does not grow pumpkins.
8. The largest pumpkin pie ever weighed in at 3,699 pounds and was 20 feet around. I wonder if the people in New Bremen, Ohio are still eating those leftovers 10 years later?!
9. The name “pumpkin” stems from the Greek word “pepon,” which translates to large melon.
10. The heaviest pumpkin recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records weighed in at 2,032 pounds and was grown in Napa, California. Can you imagine how many seeds that pumpkin had?!
Had you heard any of those fun facts before? Do you have any of your own to add? Is there a particular produce item you want to know more about? I take requests!
Grow on,
Mavis
Gigi says
Illinois is the largest pumpkin producer.
Dot says
Mavis where can I sign up for your daily e-letter. I stopped getting them about a week ago. Have followed you for years.
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi Dot, I just added you to the e-letter list. An email with an activation link has just been sent to you. 🙂 But to answer your question, there is a sign up link on the right side of the screen {if you are on a computer} or towards the bottom {if you’re viewing on a phone} that says “Sign up for the newsletter”.
Carla says
How can the heaviest pumpkin weigh less than the largest pumpkin?? Just food for thought.
I love your posts – especially your fun fact ones!