Facts You Didn’t Know About Pumpkins
With the autumnal season fully underway and Halloween just around the corner, here are some facts your probably didn't know about pumpkins.
- 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.