Interesting Pumpkin Facts That You Need to Know!

By Nicole Irving, Publisher and Editor-In-Chief
Interesting Pumpkin Facts

Florida fall is in full swing… even if the weather doesn’t really feel like it! One of the best things about fall is all the pumpkin themed and flavored things, and we have some interesting pumpkin facts that you need to know!

Fact #1:

Libby’s (owned by Nestlé Company) has almost 90% of the North American market for canned pumpkin with 90% of it sold in only 4 months, from October to January, per The Agriculture Marketing Resource Center.

Fact #2:

World’s Largest Pumpkin:  Authenticated by The Guiness Book of World Records on October 9, 2016, the largest pumpkin on record weighed in at 2,624.6 pounds and was grown by Mathias Willemijns of Belgium.

Fact #3:

Molly Schuyler of California, is the world record holder for hands-free pumpkin pie eating. Schuyler consumed 50 pieces of pie in just 10 minutes! That comes out to roughly 16,150 calories!

Fact #4:

What’s up with Jack? The History of Pumpkin Carving:

People have been carving pumpkins for centuries, and the tradition originated from an Irish myth, according to History.com. The term jack-o-lantern comes from an old tale about a man named Stingy Jack who got into a twist with the Devil. Jack and the Devil made a deal that when Jack died, the Devil would not claim his soul for hell. But, when Jack finally passed, God would not claim his soul for heaven either! So, Jack’s spirit was left to roam the Earth with only a burning piece of coal to help light the way. The legend says that Jack carved out a turnip and put the goal inside, making his own lantern. The Irish people referred to this character as “Jack of the Lantern,” according to History.com, and then the name was shortened to “Jack O’Lantern.”

Soon after, people of Ireland and Scotland began to carve scary faces into various vegetables and place them in window sills to ward off Jack O’Lantern and other spirits. Nowadays, we use a fruit native to Central America, pumpkins, to make jack-o-lanterns and scare off any spirits that come our way!

 

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