10 Strange Facts About Pumpkin Your School Teacher Won’t Tell You

Have you enjoyed your Halloween party yesterday (31st October)? Can you tell us how do you have planned for your getup and Halloween accessories? Every Halloween party is incomplete without a carved pumpkin, and now that you are done with the party let’s know more about this Halloween fruit – pumpkin.

Pumpkin fits so well into sweet and spicy dishes like pumpkin pie or roast pumpkin soap. While you take a sip of that juice or delve into the tempting pie, consider these strange facts about your favorite fruit (some take it as a vegetable).

1. There Are 45 Different Varieties Of Pumpkin

Source = Mytinyplot

While the pumpkin is the most recognizable fruit, it comes in different sizes, shapes and colors. It comes in 45 different varieties including  Fairytale, Baby Bear, Celebration, Cotton Candy, Snack Jack, Wolf are  names to a few (I didn’t knew pumpkin has so cool names)

2. Carved Pumpkins

Source = Huffingtonpost

Do you know from where the tradition of carved pumpkin has started from? The tradition has been originated from Ireland. People of Ireland would carve jack-o-lanterns out of turnips to frighten away the dark spirits during the Celtic holiday Samhain – it is assumed to be the night when spirits of dead walk on the earth.

3. Morton, Illinois Is The Pumpkin Capital Of World

Source = Wordpress

You must have heard about the capital of the states, but do you know there’s a pumpkin capital too? Morton, Illinois is one of the largest pumpkin producers and thus it is considered as the pumpkin capital of the world.

4. Pumpkins Consists 90% Water

Source = Sihayako

This is the strangest facts about pumpkin. It comes from the family of watermelon, muskmelon, and cucumber and consists 90% of water. A bowl of canned pumpkin serves only 83 calories in comparison with the same serving size of potato that has triple calories.

5. Each And Every Part Of The Pumpkin Has Something To Offer

Source = Istockphoto

While we dump the stems and last part of the fruits and vegetable, Native Americans use pumpkin in all different way. They ate the pumpkin seeds, dry the shells and use them as storage containers, they ate pumpkin flesh boiled or in a roasted form. That means every single part of this fruit is edible.

6. Heaviest Pumpkin In The world – 2009 Lbs

Source = Foxnews

Earlier the heaviest pumpkin has been noted in October 2010 in Minnesota. The pumpkin was more than 5 feet in diameter and weighed 2009 pounds. The recent news suggests that 2222 pound gourd from Belgium has broken the earlier record. (7.1)

7. Pumpkin Seeds Are More Healthy Than Peanuts

Source = Mercola

Want to eat something healthy? Sprinkle roasted or fried pumpkin seeds on salads or on snacks to enhance the taste of your dish. Another surprising fact about pumpkin is that the fruit is very healthy and full of proteins. Pumpkin seeds are healthier and more beneficial than peanuts. Save the pumpkin seeds for a quick healthy recipe.

8. Pumpkin Is Able To Cure Snake Bites

Source = 12news

Really, yes people believe that pumpkin can quickly cure the snake bites. In addition, it can also remove freckles. Even many of your anti-wrinkle cream has some proportions of pumpkin in it.

9. Punkin Chunkin

Source = Huffpost

Every year Delaware hosts an annual ‘Punkin Chunkin’ competition. The teams in the contest (pumpkin launching competition) shot pumpkin 5000 feet from an air cannon. So if you ever plan to visit Delaware, be the part of this competition and experience the new taste of your favorite fruit. (7.2)

10. The Word Pumpkin Was First Noticed In The Fairytale Cinderella

Source = Wikimedia

It was in 1584 when a French explorer called this fruit as ‘gros melons’ which means’ large melons’. Later in the 17th century, it was referred to as Pumpkins.