Fun Fact #418 Jack'o'Lanterns

 Fun Fact #418 

Jack o'Lanterns 

Halloween is a wonderful time and for many it is incomplete without a Jack ‘o’ Lantern but few know it is one of the oldest cultivated plants on the planet. Pumpkins –or winter squash– were first cultivated in New Mexico between 7,000 and 5,000 years ago and were long considered to be one of “The Three Sisters” (Along with Maize and Beans) becoming a staple of Native American Diet. 

Sometime later in Europe the myth of “Stingy Jack” came about, in which an old drunkard outsmarts the Devil repeatedly before being banned from both Heaven and Hell, doomed to wander the earth –only capable of lighting candles placed in fruit to ward off other spirits. However, in the US this ran headlong into the Irish competitions of carving lanterns during Fall harvest celebrations, with many contestants entering “Jack’s Old Lantern”, becoming associated with “All Hallow’s Eve” on October 31st. Today the world’s largest producer of Pumpkins is the state of Illinois in the US. 

Speaking of Pumpkins, The Rockford IL Discovery Cent

er will be having their annual Pumpkin smash this November 5th where they’ll be launching pumpkins from a 400 pound trebuchet (See their website for full details). 

Image from https://97zokonline.com/popular-illinois-pumpkin-launch-features-giant-400-pound-catapult/