Pumpkins are everywhere this time of year, aren’t they? We decorate them for Halloween, and most people will celebrate Thanksgiving with pumpkin pie. As a matter of fact, I keep my pumpkins after Thanksgiving and put Santa hats on them!
Interesting Pumpkin Facts
Here are some interesting pumpkin facts you may not know about.
- Pumpkins are native to Central America.
- Pumpkins are botanically classified as a berry!
- All parts of a pumpkin are edible, even the leaves, flowers, and seeds.
- Pumpkins don’t all come in orange. There are yellow, white, and red ones.
- The current record for the largest pumpkin is 2,749 pounds!
- The largest pumpkin pie, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, weighed 3,699 pounds and was 20 feet in diameter. The record was set in New Bremen, Ohio, in 2010.
- The legend of the Jack O’Lantern is Irish! Legend has it that a man nicknamed “Stingy Jack” tried to stick Satan with his bar tab. In retaliation, Satan condemned Jack to walk the earth with only a lump of coal for light. Jack carved a turnip into a “basket” to set the lump of coal in. People began carving turnips to deter Jack from stopping at their houses. Irish immigrants to America found pumpkins much easier to carve than turnips.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.