We at the Scott MOE Team love Halloween! So every year we drive through random Cloverdale neighbourhoods and drop off pumpkins at people's front doors! This year we dropped off a whopping 1,500 pumpkins over 2 weekends. I was out along with Toni and our hard working crew of family, friends, and some local neighbourhood kids to do this big job.

Here's wishing everyone a happy and safe Halloween!

While I was at it I thought I'd offer up some interesting pumpkin facts that I found in Good Housekeeping Magazine. Good thing we didn't have any 1,800 pound pumpkins in our truck :-) Enjoy!

1. The word "pumpkin" showed up for the first time in the fairy tale Cinderella.

A French explorer in 1584 first called them "gros melons," which translates into Latin as "pepon," which means large melon. It wasn't until the 17th century that they were first referred to as pumpkins.

2. The original jack-o'-lanterns were made with turnips and potatoes by the Irish.

In England, they used large beets and lit them with embers to ward off evil spirits. Irish immigrants brought their customs to America, but found that pumpkins were much easier to carve.

3. Over 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkin are produced each year in the United States.

The top pumpkin-producing states are Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California. Pumpkins are also grown on every continent except Antarctica.

4. The world's largest pumpkin was more than five feet in diameter and weighed over 1,800 pounds.

It was presented in Minnesota in October 2010.

5. The largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds.

Pumpkin pie originated in the colonies, just not as we know it today. Colonists would cut the tops of pumpkins off, remove the seeds, and fill the pumpkins with milk, spices, and honey, and bake them in hot ashes.

6. Each pumpkin has about 500 seeds.

And they take between 90 and 120 days to grow. High in iron, they can be roasted to eat. The flowers that grow on pumpkin vines are also edible.

7. Delaware hosts an annual "Punkin Chunkin" championship.

Teams compete in a pumpkin launching competition, where pumpkins are shot almost 5,000 feet from an air cannon.

8. There are over 45 different varieties of pumpkin.

They range in color like red, yellow, and green, and have names like Hooligan, Cotton Candy, and Orange Smoothie.

9. Pumpkins are fruits.

More specifically, they are a winter squash in the family Cucurbitacae, which includes cucumbers and melons.

10. Pumpkins are 90% water.

And that makes them low calorie. One cup of canned pumpkin only has 83 calories and only half a gram of fat. In comparison, the same serving size of sweet potato has triple the calories. They also have more fiber than kale, more potassium than bananas, and are full of heart-healthy magnesium and iron.