- in 1584 a French explorer first called pumpkins “gros melons”
which was translated into English as “pompions” and around the 17th century they were finally referred to as pumpkins 
- the word “pumpkin” comes from the Greek word “pepon” which means “large melon”
- pumpkins are grown on every continent on earth except Antarctica, as they’re not really a fan of 24/7 icy conditions
- pumpkins are 90% water
- they also have more fiber than kale, more potassium than a banana and are full of magnesium and iron
- even the stem of a pumpkin is edible, meaning every part of a pumpkin can be consumed- skin, leaves, flowers, pulp, seeds…
- *record scratch… pumpkins are technically FRUIT and belong to the same family, Cucurbitacae, which includes cucumbers and melons
- there are over 45 varieties of pumpkins
- Delaware used to hose an annual “Punkin Chunkin” which is just delightful to say, but, unfortunately, they’ve taken a few years off as someone died in 2017
- pumpkins take between 90 and 120 days to grow
- each pumpkin has about 500 seeds
- the heaviest pumpkin EVER was grown in Italy and weighed 2,702lb 13.9 oz… think of all the PIE
- suffering from freckles or a snakebite? back in the day, pumpkins were considered a remedy for both! not sure what happens if you’re freckled AND get bit by a snake, but hopefully it’s a 2 for 1 deal
- in 1663, the term jack-o’-lantern was used to refer to a night watchman who carries a lantern, and apparently doesn’t even have to be named Jack!
- the Irish folktale of Stingy Jack was the inspiration of jack-o’-lanterns. the TLDR version is a blacksmith named Jack made a pact with the devil and after he died he was cursed to walk the earth without an end. however, homeboy was scared of the dark so he went BACK to the devil, cuz that clearly worked out so well the first time, and asked him for a light to bring with him as he roamed the earth. he got hooked up with a burning ember which he put into a hallowed out turnip as a makeshift lantern, and the rest is history…
- during the Samhain feast put on by the ancient Celtics, the celts would wear costumes and light bonfires and walk around to ward off bad and evil spirits. the bonfire eventually evolved into lighting of carved turnips, which then evolved into the jack-o’-lanterns we know and love today
- some think that the jack-o’-lantern represents souls in purgatory and prayers would be said after the lantern was lit
- Punkie Night (not a thing at the Blue Lagoon, but could be cool if it was….) was a 19th century tradition in Somerset, England, where on the last Thursday in October, children would walk through the streets carrying jack-o’-lanterns and singing “give me a candle, give me a light, if you haven’t a candle a penny’s alright” which can probably be translated directly into “trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat”
- Keene, New Hampshire holds the world record for most lit jack-o’-lanterns on display at a chill 30,581 of them
- don’t forget about the Great Pumpkin, who Linus van Pelt from Peanuts believed was a supernatural figure who rises from the pumpkin patch on Halloween evening and flies around bringing toys to good kids that believe in it
- there are A LOT of sweet jams that mention pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns, but the ones that come to mind are- Halloween by The Misfits
(duh) “Bonfires burning bright, Pumpkin faces in the night, I remember Halloween” and the song Pumpkin by The Regrettes, so here’s a live version of that bop, “Pumpkin, pumpkin, You’re gonna kill me, Pumpkin, pumpkin, La-da-da-da-da-da” 
