WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:02.480 Oh hey, it's your friend who's at the mall and 2 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:05.960 text you photos of jeans that cannot possibly be the 3 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:08.000 new thing. Please tell me howgh wasted with no pockets 4 00:00:08.039 --> 00:00:10.759 isn't a thing? Please. Alli worked back with another episode 5 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:15.320 of Oologies. We're just leaning into this season. Crunchy leaves, wood, 6 00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:21.879 smoke scarves, glowy little lights in the darkness. This episode Pumpkins, 7 00:00:21.879 --> 00:00:24.440 Oh Pumpkins. This is an amazing episode and this is 8 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:29.640 also smologies. So smologies are shorter episodes of classics, and 9 00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:32.719 this is one of our best. But we've edited them 10 00:00:32.759 --> 00:00:34.719 down so that there are no swear words and also 11 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:38.600 so that they're just shorter. They're classroom friendly, their kid friendly, 12 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:42.520 they're the whole family friendly. So enjoy this Smology's version 13 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:45.920 of Pumpkins. If Pumpkins were a person, I'd be down 14 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:48.759 to be the roommate. They seem chill, they seem friendly, 15 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:51.240 they seem down for a good time, like they would 16 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:53.719 come and clutch with a pep talk when you need 17 00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:56.399 it to herb Petology. Okay, what in the David S. 18 00:00:56.520 --> 00:00:59.840 Pumpkins is this word David Pumpkins? 19 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:02.280 I mean, are we supposed to know who that is? 20 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:04.280 I know you have questions. Okay, I looked it up. 21 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:07.640 Cu cure patology comes from the Latin for gourd, and yes, 22 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:10.640 cucureb patology looks like cucumbers because they're related. We're going 23 00:01:10.680 --> 00:01:12.640 to get into that later. But also I'd like to 24 00:01:12.680 --> 00:01:15.760 note that the word pumpkin comes from the French for 25 00:01:15.879 --> 00:01:19.159 pump pump, which came in a winding viny way from 26 00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:22.200 the Greek peppo, which means to be cooked by the sun. 27 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:26.439 Genus and species of most pumpkins cucurbita pepo, a gourd 28 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:28.959 that's been cooked in the sun. So I was looking 29 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:32.079 for a pumpkin expert, or someone who studies pumpkins, or 30 00:01:32.120 --> 00:01:35.719 a pumpkin scholar, but not just the science of pumpkins, 31 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:38.680 but also the emotions and the folklore and the history. 32 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:46.079 And I came across a book entitled Pumpkin, Pumpkin Folklore, History, Planting, Hints, 33 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:49.319 and Good Eating by someone who loves pumpkins so much 34 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:52.040 she studied them intensely in wordal whole book about them. 35 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:55.519 We chatted about what is a pumpkin? How long have 36 00:01:55.640 --> 00:01:58.359 we been carving them up and cooking them down? How 37 00:01:58.359 --> 00:02:00.840 many varieties are there what else that they used for? 38 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:03.079 How do you pick out a good one? What are 39 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:07.159 the biggest myths and the biggest pumpkins? So light alone, 40 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:12.800 candle enjoy the flickering and cozy wisdom of curebatologists and 41 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:14.199 Copeland ms. 42 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:33.560 Milogy ntious knowledge. I'm a senior. I'm going to be 43 00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:38.039 seventy eight November twenty second, which falls on Thanksgiving every 44 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:40.840 so many years, and that's how I one of the 45 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:42.759 ways I come to love pumpkins. 46 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:45.439 You must have had a pumpkin pie for your birthday 47 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:45.879 every oh. 48 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:51.319 I always said, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, pumpkin soup, pumpkin 49 00:02:51.639 --> 00:02:52.439 nick you name it. 50 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:54.280 And now getting to have to pick a pumpkin. 51 00:02:54.520 --> 00:02:54.840 Uh huh? 52 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:57.360 How do you pick a pumpkin? What are we looking for? 53 00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:00.919 It's going to be different every single time you go. 54 00:03:01.240 --> 00:03:03.439 It's going to be different. The color's going to be different, 55 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:06.159 the shape of the pumpkin's going to be different, the 56 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:09.080 size of it, whether it has a stem at the 57 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:12.840 top that's long. It's gonna change every year. I mean, 58 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:15.560 it's magic every year. You'll know it when you see it, 59 00:03:16.199 --> 00:03:19.919 and it may take a long time to figure it out. 60 00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:23.759 But that's half the fun of getting one. So for 61 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:28.319 a decorative pumpkin, use intuition. You can summon your spidey sense, 62 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:32.039 tap into some witches magic, and just get magnetized to 63 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:34.000 the right one. Now, if you're going to eat it, 64 00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:37.319 the darker, the green stem and the orange skin mean 65 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:39.960 it's ready to be picked, ready to be purchased, and 66 00:03:40.039 --> 00:03:41.879 you can hold it up to your ear and you 67 00:03:41.960 --> 00:03:45.479 can thump it. And the louder that hollow echoe sound, 68 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:47.960 the better the pumpkin. In side note, if you ever 69 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:51.879 need to lovingly threaten someone, say for venmoing you, for 70 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:55.159 enchiladas when you said they wear your treat, or not 71 00:03:55.319 --> 00:03:58.080 texting you the second they get home safe, you can 72 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:00.639 always say that you'll thump them on the pumpkin. That's 73 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:02.719 been a word family threat for years and it translates 74 00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:04.719 to I love you, how dare you? And now, what 75 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:08.840 about some varieties of pumpkins? Oh, there are a lot, 76 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:12.560 a lot, a lot of pumpkin varieties. Now, a pumpkin 77 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:17.199 is not a typical fruit. It's also not a vegetable. 78 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:21.079 Oh no, it's not a vegetable. It's a fruit, not well, 79 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:25.000 sort of a pumpkin believe it or not, is a berry? 80 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:29.199 Oh what, it's a berry? Well, why it's a berry 81 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:32.800 because it said I'm going to be a berry and 82 00:04:32.920 --> 00:04:33.959 it's berry. True. 83 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:39.360 It's a freakin berry, y'all. It's a frickin' berry. And 84 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:43.279 I looked it up. And so are cucumbers. And avocados 85 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:47.439 are a berry. Bananas are a berry. Eggplants are a berry. 86 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:51.959 These are berries. They are fleshy seeded fruits. They're formed 87 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:56.480 from a single flower containing one ovary boom berries. Anne 88 00:04:56.519 --> 00:04:58.680 says that the biggest plump flam she's here to debunk 89 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:01.480 is that pumpkins are not a vegetable, and in her 90 00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:05.519 books she calls the pumpkin a botanical platypus, but refer 91 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:07.839 to them as a vegetable. She might thump you on 92 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:08.279 the berry. 93 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:11.959 So, yeah, you have a lot of fun with pumpkins 94 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:15.800 because there's a lot of really different things about pumpkins 95 00:05:16.120 --> 00:05:19.600 that come in different sizes, shapes. They were grown in 96 00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:25.000 Mexico way way back, even before the Incas and so forth. 97 00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:28.279 They were grown in China way way back. 98 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:31.519 And what are some of your favorite varieties of pumpkin? 99 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:36.439 I like, there's a pumpkin that is green that has stripes, 100 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:42.480 and sometimes it has red and green, and they're very small. 101 00:05:43.399 --> 00:05:44.920 I think they're called kabasi. 102 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:48.279 Okay. These little pumpkins are Japanese, and if you google 103 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:52.240 image search kobacha in Japan you will find all manner 104 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:55.480 of pumpkins. But to English speakers, kobachi needs a short 105 00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:59.879 squat squash that you've probably had in tempora, and you 106 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:03.040 either save it as the last piece you eat as 107 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:05.680 a treat, or you eat it first because life is short. 108 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:07.279 And someone at the table may say, ooh, can I 109 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:09.720 have some of your tempura, and you want the pumpkin 110 00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:13.399 one for yourself, you gotta eat it fast. Ps Australians 111 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:17.519 call all kinds of squash pumpkin. It's calabasa and Spanish 112 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:20.920 and candied in Mexico for Day the Dead festivities, and 113 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:24.399 the British used to call them pompions. Now the smooth 114 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:28.439 doorstep pumpkins we're used to in America are Connecticut field pumpkins, 115 00:06:28.839 --> 00:06:30.759 and the smaller ones that we make in at pies 116 00:06:31.079 --> 00:06:35.560 are sweet sugar pies. And there are Jarendale blue pumpkins 117 00:06:35.879 --> 00:06:39.759 Casper white pumpkins. The pumpy ones are called peanut there's 118 00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:42.839 Long Island cheese pumpkins because they look like a cheese wheel. 119 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:47.800 There are others called white ghost, warty goblins, and baby boo. Essentially, 120 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:50.079 just come up with a new pumpkin and give it 121 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:53.240 your cat's weirdest nickname. You're good to go. Tell me 122 00:06:53.319 --> 00:06:55.360 a little bit more about the history of pumpkins. So 123 00:06:55.920 --> 00:07:00.720 South America rights and then at what point did they 124 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:03.879 start growing them in North America and Europe? I mean, 125 00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:06.040 they're pretty much grown on every continent. 126 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:09.879 Right, Well, they figured that the American Indians were growing 127 00:07:09.959 --> 00:07:13.000 them for a while. They just may not have looked 128 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:16.720 like the pumpkins we have today. They might have looked 129 00:07:16.759 --> 00:07:20.000 more like a squash, for example. They might have been smaller. 130 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:23.279 They believed that the sheets were very healthy for you, 131 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:26.439 which they are, so they believe that they would take 132 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:29.519 away like parasites and things like that. So they would 133 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:32.600 eat the seeds and dry them and eat them. 134 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:37.439 OKAYI note how ancient are pumpkins. Did they come from aliens? 135 00:07:37.639 --> 00:07:41.439 Probably not. Scientists have found seeds that are over seven 136 00:07:41.519 --> 00:07:44.680 thousand years old. I think they originated in Central America 137 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:49.040 as smaller, more bitter little gourds and indigenous populations all 138 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:53.639 over the continent have for centuries use pumpkins in stews. 139 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:54.279 Dried them. 140 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:58.079 They use them in medicine, squash blossoms which also side 141 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:02.839 note amazing friedan very much. Those were used for skin injuries, 142 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:05.800 and from eighteen thirty six to the mid nineteen hundreds 143 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:10.319 pumpkin seeds were recognized as a remedy for intestinal infections, 144 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:13.439 and more recent research has been on the l triptafan 145 00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:17.079 in pepita seeds helping with symptoms of depression. Which part 146 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:18.839 of that is probably just sitting there cracking them with 147 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:21.480 your teeth. It's so dang dang fun. Also, according to 148 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:26.120 Kaiser Permanente's website, there have been pumpkin seed medical trials 149 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:30.120 showing promise in reducing kidney stone risk and helping with 150 00:08:30.199 --> 00:08:34.480 a parasite that comes from snails. So your glowing porch 151 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:38.799 orb contains a little botanical wizardry. You mentioned earlier that 152 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:39.879 pumpkins are magical. 153 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:42.919 Oh, absolutely. We'll talk to you a little. 154 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:44.919 Bit about how you feel about pumpkins. 155 00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:49.120 Yeah, I mean, it's it's not just the pumpkin itself, 156 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:52.919 it's the whole season that it ushers in. It's all 157 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:56.320 the good things that we know and love, getting together 158 00:08:56.480 --> 00:09:01.480 with friends, changing our personality via Halloween. 159 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:04.639 Quick reminder, is the eve of all hollows day to 160 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:07.159 honor saints, and the tradition of dressing up comes in 161 00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:10.799 part to embody the costume that you're wearing, and partly 162 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:13.879 to scare off the demons that are just chilling waiting 163 00:09:13.960 --> 00:09:16.559 to cross the boundary and to death the next day. Now, 164 00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:20.200 some researchers have found a link between higher caloric intake 165 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:23.240 in the colder months, attributing it to old kind of 166 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:26.679 hard wiring for storing up on fat before a fast. 167 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:29.600 So Halloween is the time to dress up in order 168 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:32.200 to ward off evil and also to eat all the 169 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:35.360 candy you can because death looms close and the fruit 170 00:09:35.399 --> 00:09:37.679 trees will be bare in the winter. It makes sense. 171 00:09:38.120 --> 00:09:41.600 And now, what is some of the folklore surrounding pumpkins, 172 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:44.919 Because I'm thinking, like people stepping into pumpkins's carriages. We 173 00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:48.279 got Igabod crane out there, we got all kinds of stuff. 174 00:09:48.399 --> 00:09:53.039 Oh, there are there's smiths that involve pumpkins from other 175 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:58.840 lands where they actually believe that humanity came from a pumpkin. 176 00:09:59.080 --> 00:10:01.679 Ps. I did look this up in A two thousand 177 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:06.039 and one article from the Journal Economic Botany catalogs several 178 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:09.960 creation myths from different Asian cultures, most of which involve 179 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:13.879 people surviving a great flood by floating in a hollow 180 00:10:13.960 --> 00:10:18.480 pumpkin or the birthing of a pumpkin. Youch that's cut 181 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:23.039 into many pieces to form people. But historians think that 182 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:25.600 the pumpkin plant didn't even make it to Asia until 183 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:29.080 post Colombian times. But this folklore has been passed down 184 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:32.320 through enough oral and written tradition that it's stuck. And 185 00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:35.279 here in America there are old stories from Southern communities 186 00:10:35.320 --> 00:10:39.080 and African American communities about riding pumpkin vines into new 187 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:41.960 lands since they grow so fast, just like hop a 188 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:45.159 pumpkin vine like a bullet train, and also stories about 189 00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:48.840 convincing Europeans that pumpkins are donkey eggs. Now moving on 190 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:52.279 to bigger and gianter topics. What about them big ol' 191 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:56.200 honkin pumps And how do people grow those huge giant pumpkins? 192 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:59.879 Oh sir, that's quite an effort. Yeah, they do have 193 00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:05.080 seeds for those, However, they don't necessarily grow to be 194 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:07.759 big on their own. You have to kind of baby 195 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:10.200 them along. And one of the things a lot of 196 00:11:10.279 --> 00:11:13.559 people do is that once the pumpkins starts growing, they 197 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:16.480 have to keep it turned and they have to keep 198 00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:20.480 it moving so that it doesn't squash its own leaves 199 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:23.759 and everything and prevent it from growing. So they have 200 00:11:23.960 --> 00:11:27.080 to put something under it. You know. It could be cloth, 201 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:29.919 it could be hay or whatever, but they put something 202 00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:34.440 under it. Some of them feed the pumpkins with milk. Yeah, 203 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:37.559 they do, they do. There's a lot of different ways 204 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:40.399 they can do things. And of course, growing the biggest 205 00:11:40.440 --> 00:11:47.279 pumpkin is a longstanding thing that's happened. Oh and back 206 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:51.919 in the early colonial days, when people would get their 207 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:55.639 hair cut, they used to put a pumpkin, half a pumpkin, 208 00:11:56.159 --> 00:11:58.159 on top of their heads. And they even name the 209 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:02.559 town Pumpkinshire because that's how they would cut their hair. 210 00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:04.799 They were just cut it around the pumpkin. 211 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:09.600 Oh like that, Yeah, ps New Haven in particular was 212 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:12.879 known for this luke and like Instagram photos of rose 213 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:16.519 at brunch, it spread quickly and gave New Englanders the 214 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:21.000 nickname Pumpkinheads. Now Boston, Hi, Hi, Boston, You were once 215 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:24.600 known as pumpkin Shire. So the next time you enjoy 216 00:12:24.679 --> 00:12:27.519 some baked beans from Beantown. Just think, Wow, you could 217 00:12:27.559 --> 00:12:30.440 be pumpkin Muncheon instead. So let's say you need a 218 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:34.039 haircut in several months, so you've decided to grow pumpkin. 219 00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:37.720 Does ann have any chips? First? She says, have a 220 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:41.240 space about four feet wide and thirty or forty feet long. 221 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:44.759 Or or you can train your vines to grow in 222 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:47.080 a circle around the rest of the garden. 223 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:48.320 Is that cute? 224 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:51.480 She says, Plant five or six seeds in each mound, 225 00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:54.240 and then when they start to sprout, you got to 226 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:57.039 thin them out and pluck a couple. Let only the 227 00:12:57.120 --> 00:12:59.320 best to grow. She says, it's going to be heartbreaking, 228 00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:02.120 but it's worth it now. Her book has more growing 229 00:13:02.200 --> 00:13:05.840 tips about hot capping them, coddling them in cold weather, 230 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:09.360 keeping them cozy as they start their journey to pumpkin Town. 231 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:11.399 I guess pumpkinshire they. 232 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:13.960 Grow into the fall, and there's a few types that 233 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:17.240 can even grow into the winter. So yeah, it just 234 00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:21.039 depends how they're grown and where they're grown and what 235 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:23.840 they put into it to how they will grow. 236 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:26.679 Do you have a favorite movie involving a pumpkin? 237 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:32.000 I guess Cinderell and mainly, I think that's everybody's everybody's 238 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:37.919 favored her in that pumpkin carriage. You know, that's that's 239 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:40.679 pretty classic. I can't think of any others that I've 240 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:43.240 seen right off him. Yeah, but that's one I always 241 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:44.120 liked a lot. 242 00:13:44.679 --> 00:13:47.759 Okay, p has The Tale of Cinderella dates back over 243 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:51.840 two thousand years and has taken various forms. Now, the 244 00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:55.399 version with the pumpkin carriage was a far from a 245 00:13:55.440 --> 00:13:58.360 Walt Disney invention, so don't give him props that part 246 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:00.519 of the story was whipped up in a sixty hundreds 247 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:03.159 in France. What about pumpkin carving tips? 248 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:07.240 Pumpkin carving tips, I'm not good at carving pumpkins, but 249 00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:10.799 I'll tell you why. I have carved a pumpkin or two. 250 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:13.600 But after a while I got twhere I didn't really 251 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:16.360 want to carve them. I really wanted to paint them 252 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:20.159 or to do something else with them. For some reason, 253 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:22.519 I just didn't like to cut them up unless I 254 00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:23.480 was cooking them. 255 00:14:23.639 --> 00:14:25.879 Yeah, so you know, you are not the only cu 256 00:14:25.960 --> 00:14:29.200 curvatologist I have heard say that. I understand that there 257 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:31.559 is a movement to cook not carve, because it's like 258 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:33.840 you put all this water and resources into it, so 259 00:14:33.879 --> 00:14:35.279 you're just gonna let it rout on the porch. 260 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:37.200 That's true, that's true. 261 00:14:38.279 --> 00:14:42.559 Yes, Tempera not to be confused with tempera or acrylic paint, 262 00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:45.639 works well on pumpkins. And if you're like, why am 263 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:48.919 I seeing so many turquoise colored pumpkins? What's this trend? 264 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:52.720 That is the teal pumpkin project? And on someone's porch, 265 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:55.200 it's a sign that there are non food treats being 266 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:58.919 given out. So if you're kiddo or shamelessly you trolling 267 00:14:58.919 --> 00:15:01.679 your neighborhood as an adult for goodies, is allergic to 268 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:04.799 peanuts or gluten, those houses are like I got you 269 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:08.639 covered with like a fake tattoo, some silly putty, So 270 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:10.559 keep an eye off for those. Can I ask you 271 00:15:10.679 --> 00:15:11.559 questions from listeners? 272 00:15:11.720 --> 00:15:11.960 Sure? 273 00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:14.919 Okay, okay, real quick, before we get to Patreon questions, 274 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:17.279 we may have a few words about some sponsors of 275 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:19.480 the show who make it possible for us to donate 276 00:15:19.559 --> 00:15:22.320 each week to a cause of the ologists choosing, and 277 00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:26.559 this week Anne chose Shriner's Hospitals for Children because children 278 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:29.159 and their sense of magic and wonder have a special 279 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:32.679 place in her Giant Heart. So Shiner's Hospitals for Children 280 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:35.600 is a network of twenty two nonprofit medical facilities across 281 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:38.480 North America. So thank you to and for choosing them, 282 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:43.559 and to some of the sponsors for making it possible. Okay, 283 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:46.600 let's get to your questions. Meg Mahelley asks, and I 284 00:15:46.679 --> 00:15:48.559 think a lot of people probably have the same question, 285 00:15:49.039 --> 00:15:50.759 where did the jack o' lantern originate? 286 00:15:51.320 --> 00:15:56.080 The Jack o lantern actually originated a long time ago, 287 00:15:56.679 --> 00:16:00.240 and we think back around when Stone Hinge and all 288 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:03.360 that was, well, what's active? Let me put it that way. 289 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:07.480 They think that it goes back that far and that 290 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:12.039 Jack was like comparable to the devil, and he had 291 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:16.360 to be sort of punished, and he had to carry 292 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:20.720 around a light so that people wouldn't be afraid of him, 293 00:16:20.919 --> 00:16:24.559 that they would know he was coming here, Johnny. So 294 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:27.759 it goes back a long way. Again, we only know 295 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:31.039 from things that have been written, and we don't know 296 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:34.960 in a lot of cases how truly accurate they are. 297 00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:38.240 So I'm doing my best to give a correct answer. 298 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:41.720 Okay. It's also been said that Irish and Scottish kids 299 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:46.399 used to carve their jackal interns out of turnups or potatos, 300 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:48.919 and let me tell you, they look like tiny baby 301 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:52.799 mummy heads and are so much scarier by so much, 302 00:16:53.159 --> 00:16:57.440 many multitudes. And in this tale of Jack and the Devil, 303 00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:00.320 so some versions say that a guy named Jack trick 304 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:02.679 the devil and then trap the devil in the tree, 305 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:05.680 and so the devil condemned Jack to wander the earth 306 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:09.519 just hoofing it around carrying a hot coal in a 307 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:14.160 turn up? Is that to mimic the devil Jack's lanternian. 308 00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:16.799 Probably, And also so that it would light the way 309 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:20.880 for people in the dark in the in the winter time. 310 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:24.759 And it wasn't really like Halloween as we know it now. 311 00:17:24.839 --> 00:17:28.000 It used to be called sam Hane, and sam Hane 312 00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:32.519 was so different. It was connected with Celtic people and 313 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:37.839 so it was a different sort of holiday then, okay. 314 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:41.759 So quick aside. Sam Han also pronounced Sowen, is a 315 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:45.640 Gaelic festival and it celebrates the Celtic pagan new Year 316 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:48.119 and the end of the harvest season and into the 317 00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:53.839 cold times, and feasts are had, costumes are donned, fairies 318 00:17:53.960 --> 00:17:57.160 are appeased, neighbors are shaken down for treats, and spirits 319 00:17:57.240 --> 00:17:59.119 are invited to come kick it before they cross over. 320 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:01.519 And if you're like Day of the Dead, you didn't 321 00:18:01.559 --> 00:18:04.920 warshows what a nutty coincidence. It's the same day that 322 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:09.519 Mexican holiday honoring and celebrating They're Gone and not Forgotten. 323 00:18:09.960 --> 00:18:12.160 Used to be celebrated in the beginning of summer pre 324 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:16.640 Spanish colonization, but gradually it got moved to late October 325 00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:20.599 to fit in with Western halloweeny things. Oh, Naomi Barry 326 00:18:20.599 --> 00:18:23.000 wants to know what's the deal with white and pink pumpkins? 327 00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:24.559 How do they make them like that? 328 00:18:25.319 --> 00:18:29.240 They don't make them. They cross pollinate them and they 329 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:33.960 grow new varieties when they can. Now, white pumpkins have 330 00:18:34.200 --> 00:18:37.839 been something that they wanted to develop for a long time, 331 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:41.839 and they finally were able to. They've had red pumpkins reddish. 332 00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:44.319 Let's put it this way. They're more red than they 333 00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:48.000 are orange. So if they cross the red with the white, 334 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:50.880 chances are they'll get the pink. But the pink is 335 00:18:51.160 --> 00:18:55.599 you don't see many pink. Yeah, it's more rare. So 336 00:18:55.759 --> 00:18:57.680 if you get a chance to get a pink pumpkin, 337 00:18:57.799 --> 00:18:58.880 by all means, get one. 338 00:19:00.200 --> 00:19:03.519 By the bye are called porcelain doll f one varieties 339 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:08.839 or rascal f ones and they are light, light, peachy, pink, 340 00:19:09.640 --> 00:19:14.440 lumpy but hearty with deep ribbing. Now, this next question 341 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:18.400 was also asked my patrons Morgan Ashley, Katie Coast, Sam Taylor, 342 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:21.839 Laura Kenny, and Joe Porfino, who simply wrote, what's with 343 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:25.559 pumpkin guts? Jacob Farmer wants to know why is it 344 00:19:25.640 --> 00:19:27.680 sometimes really easy to get the goop out of the 345 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:29.799 inside of the pumpkin and sometimes it's really long. 346 00:19:31.319 --> 00:19:36.160 Because the pumpkin has an either fully matured and there 347 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:41.359 are some varieties you think about making spaghetti noodles. Uh, 348 00:19:41.559 --> 00:19:45.519 if you take them out too early, they're really hard 349 00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:48.920 to get out of the pan, and they're harder to 350 00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:51.640 deal with. If you get them out when they're just right, 351 00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:55.480 then they're pretty easy to deal with. So it's possible 352 00:19:55.680 --> 00:19:58.359 that the pumpkin isn't fully right. So if the skin 353 00:19:58.519 --> 00:20:03.039 is really rough and really thick, sometimes it doesn't want 354 00:20:03.079 --> 00:20:04.400 to let go of this seed. 355 00:20:04.680 --> 00:20:07.920 That's great advice. I never realized that Becky Woodroff has 356 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:10.079 a great question. She wants to know what's with those 357 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:13.000 bags of teeny tiny pumpkins in the produce aisle. Are 358 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:16.000 they baby pumpkins or does that type naturally grow to 359 00:20:16.039 --> 00:20:17.039 that size, you know, the little one. 360 00:20:17.160 --> 00:20:21.319 Actually, those are a special variety and they grow them 361 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:24.519 that way. They're never gonna get big. They're they're grown 362 00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:28.160 to be small like that man thos lash pretty much 363 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:31.880 a long time. Yeah, because they are small, they don't 364 00:20:31.960 --> 00:20:35.400 tend to rot, especially if you don't carve them up, 365 00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:37.200 if you're just having them sitting there. 366 00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:41.359 Yeah, the old desk pumpkins, Yeah, they'll lashed. Okay. Side 367 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:44.799 note one are those tiny, tiny pumpkins that Linda from 368 00:20:44.839 --> 00:20:48.079 Accounting has on her desk from like August thirty first 369 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:51.440 until December first. Okay. They have many names among them 370 00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:58.839 Baby Boo, Pumpkin, Munchkin, Baby Pam, we Be, little Hooligan, mischief, trickster, 371 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:02.559 again supporting my theory that you can just name a 372 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:06.319 new pumpkin after your cat. Also, you know those weird 373 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:09.039 teeny ones that grow on sticks that are always in 374 00:21:09.079 --> 00:21:13.039 the floral department, Those are egg plants, which your berries 375 00:21:13.400 --> 00:21:17.039 trust no one. Brion Wharton wants to know why do 376 00:21:17.119 --> 00:21:19.079 pumpkins get the weird wort looking thingies. 377 00:21:19.640 --> 00:21:24.279 Oh, well, it's partly how they're grown and also the 378 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:28.480 variety Some pumpkins are going to be very lumpy and 379 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:33.640 bumpy because it's part of their genetic makeup, and others 380 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:37.200 will have a really smooth skin. I like the ones 381 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:40.519 that have little wart thingies on them because they're they're 382 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:44.599 they're different, you know, they're they're their own little characters, 383 00:21:45.079 --> 00:21:47.319 and to me, it makes them look more interesting. 384 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:50.079 So warts and all, you love them warts and all? 385 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:50.440 Yep? 386 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:53.160 Okay, I look this up because Ella, Sugarman and Sarah 387 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:59.039 also had questions. And pumpkin worts are called gay this warts. 388 00:21:59.599 --> 00:22:05.559 There'sts and they can be caused by water imbalances, viruses, bugs, 389 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:09.880 or just genetics. But these pumpkins all deserve hugs anyway. Okay, 390 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:15.200 one last question. Pumpkins and gourds. Are they different or 391 00:22:15.319 --> 00:22:15.440 is it? 392 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:20.000 Oh? Yeah, no, they're they're very different. Yeah, they're very different. 393 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:25.839 Gorgs are more closely related to squash, but they're not 394 00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:29.279 even that either. They're their own little thing and they 395 00:22:29.400 --> 00:22:34.039 have a very very hard shell and when they are ripe, 396 00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:38.279 they're very very hard. You don't eat gorge, generally speaking, 397 00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:41.319 but you can paint on them, you can carve them, 398 00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:44.519 you can do all kinds of things like that. So 399 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:48.039 they have their creative side too, and I love gords. 400 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:53.279 I've seen some absolutely fabulous gorg art carved, painted, and otherwise. 401 00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:56.680