Here are a few interesting pumpkin facts and stats that you may not have known. Enjoy!

Doesn’t it seem like we are experiencing a golden age of sorts for pumpkin?

Yes, our favorite over-sized squashes have been a symbol of Halloween for years and pumpkin pie has been a longtime Thanksgiving staple, but these days there are few places you can go and not find something pumpkin flavored.

Photo by aaron13251

Pumpkin Facts and Stats

Size of the largest pumpkin pie ever made:

over 5 feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds

Weight of the largest pumpkin ever grown:

1,810 pounds

Believed place of origin of the pumpkin:

Central America

Oldest evidence of pumpkin-related plants:

Seeds from 7,000-5,500 B.C.

State that contributes the largest amount of processed pumpkins in the US:

Illinois (90—95% of all processed pumpkins in US are from the state)

Percentage of pumpkins that is water:

90%

The only continent that pumpkins won’t grow in:

Antarctica

Largest lit Jack-O-Lantern display ever:

Keene, NH (30,581 on 10/19/2013)

Amount of US pumpkin-flavored product sales in 2013:

About $308 million

Number of pumpkin lattes that Starbucks has sold since introducing it in 2003:

More than 200 million

Bonus Factoid: Pumpkins were once recommended as a cure for freckles