A Life In Review

This is my third random fact roundup. I started these back in 2023 and I still just love them. I think part of that is the fact that I grew up with my very own random fact machine (my sister) and then married a random fact machine (my husband lol). We’ve already covered summer and spring, now it’s time for my second favorite season.

These are “fact checked” to the best of my ability, but feel free to fact check me in the comments if I’ve missed something. Let’s get to it!

1. Fall is the only season with two names.
2. pumpkins grow on every continent except Antarctica.
3. The largest pumpkin ever grown was over 2,700 pounds.
4. In the US, more than 46 million turkeys are eaten on thanksgiving day.
5. Candy corn was originally called “chicken feed”.
6. Candy corn used to cost $.25 a pound.
7. Black Friday is one of the busiest days of the year for plumbers because of clogged sinks and garbage disposals.
8. The iconic PSL (pumpkin spice latte) was almost called the Fall Harvest Latte.
9. In the fall, testosterone levels are at their highest (I have no idea why, but multiples sources said this with data).
10. in 2023 more than 90 million people participated in Black Friday sale shopping.
11. In the autumn snakes will look for dens to hide in for winter, snakes of different species will hide together.
12. It takes 30 – 40 apples to make one gallon of apple cider.
13. The first “Turkey Trot” was held in 1896 (this was actually really cool).
14. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three full days (why did we stop this??)
15. Red and purple leaves are caused by the sugar from the tree sap, trapped inside of the leaves.
16. People born between September and November are more likely to live to 100.
17. Each fall in Germany, Oktoberfest is hosted and about 1.3 million gallons of beer are poured.
18. Scarecrows have been used for thousands of years (I fact checked this one and WOW is that cool).
19. In the US, about 10 million pounds of apples are harvested each year.
20. More babies are conceived during the fall and winter than spring and summer.
21. The first thanksgiving football game was in 1876
22. In 2023 Americans spent $3.6 billion on candy for halloween. I imagine it’s only gone up from there.
23. Monarch butterfly migrate during the fall from the US to Mexico. They can travel between 12 and 25 miles per hour.
24. Female turkeys don’t gobble. I know that’s not totally a fall fact, but WHAT?!
25. Bobbing for apples used to be a dating game in Britain. The men were each assigned an apple and the women would bob for apples trying to get to the one for the gentleman that they had their eye on. They believed it was fate if she was successful.

That’s a wrap on these weird and funny fall facts. I hope that you learned something new and are ready to whip out this knowledge during your next holiday gathering. If nothing else, I hope this post made you laugh, because I sure laughed writing it.