Fall is here, and you know what that means- it’s time for pumpkins! This week, instead of talking about just one interesting scientific fact, we thought we would talk about lots of interesting facts having to do with pumpkins:

Did you know that the pumpkin isn’t a vegetable, but a fruit? You can tell what is a fruit by checking to see if what you are eating has seeds. Vegetables don’t have seeds, but fruits do. Because pumpkins are FULL of pumpkin seeds, this classifies them as a fruit. (Tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and even green beans are technically fruits, too!)

Did you know that long ago, our ancestors thought that pumpkins were a cure for snake bites and even for removing freckles? Although it doesn’t help with snake bites and freckles, pumpkins do have some healthy benefits- they are good for your heart and your eyes.

Did you know that 90% of a pumpkin is just water? Because so much of a pumpkin is made up of water, it requires a lot of water while it is growing to help it survive.

Did you know that the world record for the biggest pumpkin is a pumpkin that weighed 1689 pounds? That is over 100 times heavier than the average pumpkin!

Go here to carve your own virtual pumpkin or go here to print out a fun pumpkin coloring page!