With the autumnal season fully underway and Halloween just around the corner, here are some facts your probably didn't know about pumpkins.

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
loading...
  • There are 45 varieties of pumpkins.
  • The tradition of carving pumpkins originated in Ireland.
  • 80 percent of the pumpkin crop in the U.S. is available during October.
  • Morton, Illinois is the Pumpkin Capitol of the World.
  • Pumpkin seeds contain more protein than peanuts.
  • Pumpkins are 90% water.
  • Pumpkins are a squash and a member of the gourd family and are technically a fruit.
  • Pumpkins are grown on 6 of the 7 continents and are native to Mexico.
  • Early American settlers used pumpkins as a grain substitute.
  • Pumpkin pie goes hand-in-hand with Thanksgiving but probably wasn’t on the pilgrim's menu.
  • Pumpkins appeared in “The Legend of Sleepy Hallow” and Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives of Windsor.”
  • Beni Meier of Ludwigsburg, Germany set the record for World's Heaviest Pumpkin at 2323 pounds.

More From 97X