10 things about... pumpkins
You can also see: 10 things about...ice cream, easter eggs, pigs, turkeys, beavers, nettles, marshmallows, pumpkins.
At least 10 things you might not know (and maybe one or two made-up “facts”)
The world record for the biggest pumpkin is the 1,810-pound (that’s about 821 kilograms) Atlantic Giant grown by Chris Stevens in Wisconsin. Toxteth O’Grady (USA) came second.
- The pumpkin is from the squash family and grows on a trailing plant.
- It’s believed the first pumpkin was grown about 7,000 years ago.
- Pumpkins don’t just come in orange. Some are green, yellow, white, grey and even red. But not blue with a palm tree shaped image on it. That’ll be a beach ball.
- For a brief time during the 1980s Pump-Kinster’s™ were the ‘must have’ fashion item. Pump-Kinster’s™ were training shoes with an inner sole made from treated pumpkin hide, giving excellent bounce and resistance.
- Pumpkin chucking is a contest in which teams build machines, such as giant catapaults and air cannons, to throw a pumpkin as far as possible or to hit targets. The record distance for chucking a pumpkin is almost a mile!
- The soft flesh inside the pumpkin can be boiled, steamed, baked or roasted. Here's a good pumpkin soup recipe. It can even be pureed and used as a sweet pie filling.
Pumpkin seeds can also be eaten. They are a good source of zinc, protein and many other nutrients.
- The English word pumpkin originates from the Greek word for large melon. Can’t see the connection myself.
- Pumpkin flesh has allegedly been recommended as a cure for freckles! There appears to be little evidence to support this theory but as pumpkins usually ripen in autumn, when freckles fade due to a lack of sunshine, it’s maybe just an elaborate sales pitch from the Illinois Giant Pumpkin Growers Association.
- Whilst carving your pumpkin lantern for Halloween remember that tinned pumpkin is often recommended for cats and dogs with digestive problems!
Did you spot the 'untruths'? Let us know which fact you think is false.
Think you can come up with something better?! Get creative and make up one of your own to replace it.
We'll give everyone who enters a "Love Us, Not Eat Us" animal window sticker and put the best online. Write to education@vegsoc.org (don't forget to include your name and address if you would like a window sticker!)
You can also see: 10 things about...ice cream, easter eggs, pigs, turkeys, beavers, nettles, marshmallows, pumpkins.