If you're like most people, you don't give much thought to pumpkins!

Take our brief trivia test to see how much you know about

this wonderful orange symbol of autumn!

(Answers appear when you hover over the pumpkin

following each question... but NO FAIR PEEKING!

Answers are also given at the end of the questions,

in case a hobgoblin ran off with the pencils!)

1. Pumpkins are:

A) Fruits

B) Vegetables

C) Minerals

D) Inedible

2. Pumpkins have been grown in America for closest to:

A) 500 years

B) 5,000 years

C) 50,000 years

D) 100,000 years

3. Pumpkins were probably served at what famous meal?

A) The last supper

B) The first thanksgiving

C) Half-time at Super Bowl XXX

D) Christmas dinner

4. Pumpkins are a good source of nutrition.  They are:

A) Low in calories, fat and sodium

B) High in fiber,

C) Plentiful in vitamins A and B and potassium

D) All of the above

5. The largest known pumpkin in the world weighed:

A) 513 pounds

B) 3,211 pounds

C) 1,385 pounds

D) 278 pounds

6. Pumpkins are members of the family Cucurbitacae, which also includes:

A) Cucumbers

B) Cauliflower

C) Broccoli

D) Carrots

7. Pumpkins owe their orange color to:

A) Chlorophyll

B) Carotene pigments

C) Bright sunshine

D) Shade

8. Apocolocynposis means:

A) Overingestion of cranberries

B) You fear the apocalypse will occur during the month of November

C) You are a warrior with no sense of direction

D) Fear of turning into a pumpkin

9. In colonial New Haven, Connecticut, cut pumpkins were used as:

A) Guides for haircuts

B) Halloween masks

C) Flower vases

D) Candle holders

10. Pilgrims used pumpkins for many different purposes, such as:

A) Flower pots in their gardens

B) Bowls

C) Buckets and pails

D) Ceremonial masks

11. Pilgrims also used pumpkins to make:

A) Beer

B) Jewelry

C) Garden mulch

D) Paint

12. In early colonial times, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for:

A)Hair tonic

B) Skin ointments

C) Candle wax

D) Pie crust

13. Speaking of pumpkin pies, the largest pumpkin pie ever baked was:

A) 125 pounds

B) 10 pounds

C) 350 pounds

D) 75 pounds

14. Pumpkins were once recommended for:

A) Wart removal and arthritis pain

B) Eliminating nausea and diarrhea

C) Halitosis and eczema

D) Removing freckles and curing snake bites

15. Native Americans flattened strips of pumpkins, dried them and made:

A) Paving stones

B) Mats

C) Wind chimes

D) Combs

16. Where can pumpkins be grown?

A) Everywhere but Antarctica

B) Everywhere but Australia

C) Everywhere but Alaska

D) Everywhere but the desert

17. Who brought the tradition of pumpkin carving to America?

A) Christopher Columbus

B) The Irish

C) Native Americans

D) The Pilgrims

18.  Where is the "pumpkin capital" of the world?

A) Morton, Illinois

B) Utrecht, Netherlands

C) Liverpool, England

D) Dublin, Ireland

19.  Pumpkins grow on...

A) An underground stem

B) A stalk

C) A bush

D) A vine

20. To keep your jack-o-lantern from drying out:

A) Store it in a plastic bag

B) Fill it with ice cubes every night, letting the cubes melt, thereby providing moisture

C) Water it with a hose daily

D)  Rub the insides of it with petroleum jelly

Of course, we can't talk about pumpkins

without mentioning The Great Pumpkin! 

So the last five questions are based on the Peanuts movie,

"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"

21. Who does Linus write to and ask to bring him toys on Halloween?

A) The Great Pumpkin

B) The Grinch

C) Santa Claus

D) Charlie Brown

22. According to Linus, the Great Pumpkin flies all over the Earth looking for the pumpkin patch that he thinks is:

A) The largest

B) The loneliest

C) The most sincere

D) The most orange

23.  What does Linus do when he and Sally suddenly hear a sound and see a shadow rising up from the pumpkin patch?

A) He starts laughing uncontrollably

B) He yells for the rest of the gang to come quickly

C) He cries for joy

D) He passes out

24. Instead of the Great Pumpkin rising up from the pumpkin patch, who is it?

A)  Charlie Brown

B) Snoopy

C) Pigpen

D) Lucy

25. What is the message behind Linus believing in the Great Pumpkin?

A) It’s better to give than to receive

B) Friends are the chocolate chips in the cookies of life

C) Seeing is believing

D) Never give up hope

"There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people:

religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin."

            -- Linus van Pelt in It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

1. A) Fruits – the seeds are on the inside!

2. B) 5,000 years - Pumpkins originated Central America, and are indigenous to the western hemisphere. Spanish and Portuguese explorers carried pumpkin seeds back to Europe in the 14th century. In North America, Native Americans grew pumpkins for food long before the first Europeans arrived on the continent in the 1600s.

3. B) The first thanksgiving

4. D) All of the above - Pumpkins have only 23 calories per 87 g serving.  Pumpkins are about 90% water. 

5. C) 1,385 lbs – Grown by Steve Deletas and family, from Pleasant Hill, Oregon. Steve brought this new world record giant pumpkin to the Canby weigh-off on Saturday, October 4, 2003. The circumference of a 1000 pound pumpkin (measured around the widest part since the pumpkin is a rather flattened sphere at best) is around 15 feet. During the height of the growing season, the giant pumpkin's circumference increases by an average of 4 to 6 inches per day. Depending on the size of the pumpkin, that means it is adding between 10 to 20 pounds of weight each day.
6. A) Cucumbers - Pumpkins belong to the family Cucurbitacae that includes cucumbers, melons, squash, and gourds. In 1584, after French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence region of North America, he reported finding "gros melons." The name was translated into English as "pompions," which has since evolved into the modern "pumpkin."

7. B) Carotene pigments - The vivid orange color of pumpkin indicates a high content of carotene pigments such as lutein, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene (which turns in to vitamin A in the body). Pumpkins can vary in colour from white to yellow to orange to green.

8. D) Fear of turning into a pumpkin

9. A) Guides for haircuts  - to ensure a round uniform style. Because of this fashion, New Englanders were nicknamed "pumpkin-heads."

10. B) Bowls - They dried pumpkins and made the shells into bowls for eating as well as jars for storage

11. A) Beer - Pilgrims make pumpkin beer from persimmons, hops, maple sugar and pumpkin 

12. D) Pie crust – Not the filling. In colonial times, Colonists sliced off pumpkin tips, removed the seeds and filled the insides with milk, spices and honey. This was baked in hot ashes and is the origin of pumpkin pie.

13. C) 75 pounds – It was 5 feet in diameter. It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs and took six hours to bake.

14. D) Removing freckles and curing snake bites

15. B) Mats

16. A) Everywhere but Antarctica

17. B) The Irish - Using pumpkins as lanterns at Halloween is based on an ancient Celtic custom brought to America by Irish immigrants. All Hallows Eve on October 31st marked the end of the old Celtic calendar year. On that night hollowed-out turnips, beets and rutabagas with a candle inside were placed on windowsills and porches to welcome home spirits of deceased ancestors and ward off evil spirits and a restless soul called “Stingy Jack.” When the Irish immigrated to the U.S., they found plenty of pumpkins, and they were much easier to carve for their ancient holiday.  Today, 90% of regular pumpkins are sold for Halloween jack-o'-lanterns.

18. A) Morton, Illinois - This self proclaimed pumpkin capital is where you'll find the home of the Libby corporation's pumpkin industry.

19. D) A vine

20. D) Rub the insides of it with petroleum jelly within a half-hour of carving a jack o’ lantern, and place a damp towel over it when it’s not on display.    

21. A) The Great Pumpkin

22. C) Most sincere

23. D) He passes out.

24. B) Snoopy

25. D) Never give up hope!!! :)

"There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin." -- Linus van Pelt in It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

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