Halloween Mini: Why Pumpkins Are Orange
Halloween Mini: Why Pumpkins Are Orange
Plus links to scary stories from the archives.
Happy Halloween! Pumpkins turn orange because they want to die.
That’s the prevailing theory, anyway. Pumpkins start out green, camouflaging them from hungry animals. When it starts to get colder, that means they’ve grown about as many seeds as they can before winter. For those seeds to turn into more pumpkins, they now need to be eaten whole and then pooped out somewhere farther away, so the pumpkins need to be visible from a distance. They accomplish this by producing lots of carotenoids, the same compounds that make carrots orange.
If a pumpkin turns orange, but then the weather starts getting sunnier, it will sometimes turn green again. This might be an adaptation to wonky climate patterns—oops, winter isn’t coming quite yet, so let me grow a bit more before I get eaten.
Want more seasonal fun facts? Check out these stories from the archives.
For those tired of U.S. election coverage, here’s the completely unrelated story of a conceited demagogue named Cornelis Tromp who incited a mob to storm a building in the capital, telling them they had to stop the people in charge from stealing the country from its rightful ruler. He was very angry about losing his job, you see, but don’t worry, he got it back four years later.
The suspenseful story of the writing of the U.S. national anthem, co-written with special guest Washington Irving.
The Masque of the Red Death, one of Poe’s more enigmatic horror stories, decoded.
On the invention and re-invention of gothic horror.
A graph of vampire fiction.
An easy and fun guide to writing the scripture for your new satanic cult.
See you in November!