While looking at the National Days calendar today, it was fascinating to note that today is National Pumpkin Day and National Reptile Day. How do you combine those into an interesting blog subject?
Well, I did find out that bearded dragons like to eat pumpkins. So, I guess that is one thing humans have in common with the bearded dragon. I did not, however, have a bearded dragon to interview to discover how they like their pumpkin prepared. Olinebeardeddragons.com recommends small pieces of raw pumpkin given only occasionally to your pet.
Sounds bland?
As humans, we can have a lot more fun with our pumpkins.
We can bake or cook our pumpkin: Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cake, pumpkin ice cream, so many choices!!
We can dress our pets as pumpkins, our children as pumpkins, our spouses as pumpkins. We can carve pumpkins, paint pumpkins, judge pumpkin contests!
Pheww! Here are some fun facts about pumpkins:
According to Good Housekeeping:
- The word pumpkin was first used in the Cinderella fairytale in the 17th century.
- The original jack-o’-lanterns were made with turnips and potatoes by the Irish, and the English used beets. Once immigrants came to America, they found that pumpkins were easier to use.
- Pumpkins are grown on every continent except Antarctica.
- Every single part of a pumpkin is edible, the seeds, the skin, all of it.
- Pumpkins are 90% water, which makes them a low-calorie food.
- Pumpkins are technically a fruit.
- There are more than 45 different varieties of pumpkin.
- Each pumpkin has about 500 seeds.
- Pumpkin-flavored sales totaled over $414 million in 2017.
- Morton, Illinois, calls itself the “Pumpkin Capital of the World.”
- Over 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkin are produced each year in the United States.
Halloween’s on its way! If you get to go to a Halloween party this year (COVID precautions maintained, of course), throw a few of these facts around; you could be the hit of the party.
