Do you know the first pumpkin pie was made inside the pumpkin shell? What animal eat pumpkins? What parts of the plant are edible? What do tape worms have to do with pumpkins? Are there really candy cane and moonshine pumpkins? Find out on this episode. Welcome to Writing Rural with Alley, the fiction writer's inspiration station for Rural Life and Lifestyles. From historical to post-apocalyptic, helping you bring your rural stories to life. I'm Alley, and this is episode number 44, pumpkins. Stick around to the end to find out all the ways things could possibly go wrong. Now, let's get into this. It's that time of year again here in America, the pumpkin spices came out in almost everything. What's up with that? Now I like pumpkin pie as much as the next person, but this has gotten ridiculous when the coffee shops try to sell pumpkin-flavor dog treats. But since the world has gone crazy with pumpkin, let's talk about what the coffee shop doesn't tell you about pumpkin. Before we get started, let me give a brief disclaimer. I am in no way, shape, form or fashion a doctor or medical person of any kind. This information is solely for the purposes of fiction storytelling, and nothing else! Okay, let's get into this. Pumpkins are believed to have originated in Central America. The first document of pumpkin seeds came from, please forgive me if I mispronounce this, Oaxaca, Highlands of Mexico. This is from the pre-Columbian era. This type of pumpkin was small and had a bitter taste to it. The tribes originally grew them not for their seeds or innards, but for their outer shell, also known as the husk. The shell of the pumpkin is ideal for winter food storage and storage for times of low food or food scarcity. The pumpkin soon spread and is commonly known as part of the Three Sisters to Native Americans. Today, we have over 45 different varieties of pumpkin.

They come in many colors:

green, orange, yellow, red, and even white. Pumpkins are technically a fruit and 92 % water. All parts of the pumpkin, from the roots to the stem to the leaves and the fruit, aka the pumpkin, are edible. According to the University of California, they are naturally low in energy density. Pumpkins are an excellent source of potassium, vitamin A, and beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant that gives orange vegetables and fruits their color. There are also many pumpkins that have some weird, goofy names that you know I have to share. They include, but are definitely not limited to, Hooligan, Baby Boo, Casper, Cindy, Long Island Cheese, Tarzian, Wardy Goblin, Batwing, Moonshine, Neck. No, seriously, just the body part neck for that name. One-too-many, ol' Zebs, cotton candy, rumbo, sunlight, Tom Fox, Wee-B- little, Wolf, and Orange Smoothie. There are many food uses for pumpkin. As I said, they have been used for winter storage. Many Native Americans used them to store other foods inside. Some cut the shell into strips and cooked them over an open fire. They also ate the seeds, but remember, the first seeds and the healthiest pumpkin seeds were always saved for the next year's crops. The first seeds were in case anything happened to the rest of the crop. They have been used over the years

for many things:

soups, stalks, purees, dried and ground to make spices, cocktails, pumpkin butter, and sometimes used as a pectone ingredient. However, the most well-known use is a pumpkin pie. This was first invented by the Native Americans. They would cut the top off the pumpkin and place milk, honey, and spices inside before baking it in hot ash. I suddenly want to try that. It sounds good. Is anyone else hungry now? Just me. The pumpkin has had other uses that are not all about eating them. They have been used as natural planter, temporary water containers, food storage containers, and serving bowls. Some Native Americans woven the skins into mats and use them as decorations, plus feed for the animals. This can include domesticated dogs or pets if it's a modern terms. They can be fed to livestock, including, but not limited to, horses, cows, rabbits, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, pigs. Just remember, too much at any one time can cause diarrhea in animals. It has historically been used as a hunting lure for deers, bears, foxes, wolves, coyotes, wild boars, squirrels, opossum, raccoon, and even mice. Basically, anything that's not a carnivore. Pumpkin has also been used for medical purposes. Native Americans use the seeds for expelling tapeworms and as a diuretic. They also use the flower as a way to topically soothe minor injuries. It has been used for infection healing and kidney stone prevention for urinary tract issues. It has been believed to help some with depression, though modern medicine would say it doesn't do that. I don't know what is true and not true outside of it causes diarrhea if too much is eaten at a time. Historically, and even today, many midwives recommend pumpkin to pregnant women as a food that they should eat. It's high in many vitamins and minerals and are an all around healthy food. They are also helpful to the pancreas and the way that it makes insulin. According to Herbel Gram, it is theorized that the protein bond, please forgive me if I mispronounce this, polysaccharides and the pumpkin have a role in preventing the development and progression of diabetes. Currently, research and testing are being done to find out all the potential benefits of pumpkin. We wanted to see if the pumpkin really does prevent the development and progression of diabetes. There are also studies on the effects of men's testicular cancer prevention and to see if it helps with male nighttime overactive bladder issues. Other studies are to see if it may help protect against harmful organisms relating to infectious diseases. The effect on the cardiovascular system, if it can lower cholesterol, improve moods, or if it can really get rid of intestinal parasites.

Fun fact:

In 2016, the largest pumpkin ever grown weighed in at a whopping 2,624 pounds or 1,190 kg. It was grown in Belgium. Now for everyone's favorite part, what could possibly go wrong?

Let me tell you! Likely to go wrong:

your character eats too much pumpkin in one sitting and gets diarrhea. This would be very embarrassing on a first date.

Also likely to go wrong:

your character is making a pumpkin pie for the first time and they burn it.

Possible to go wrong:

your character uses the pumpkin shell as food storage for the winter and they did not properly prepare it, causing the pumpkin and everything in it to mold.

Also possible to get wrong:

your character feeds too much pumpkin to their dog and their dog gets diarrhea. If the dog is locked at the house alone when the owner is at the store or even at work, there could be poop everywhere when the owner returns.

Unlikely to get wrong:

your character becomes distracted while cooking the pumpkin and it cooks so long it catches on fire.

Also, unlikely to go wrong:

your character feeds the pumpkin to their livestock. The livestock could be so excited about the pumpkin that your character is trampled as the livestock try to get to the pumpkin before the other animals do. Improbable, but still technically in the realm of possibilities: your character uses the pumpkin as a bear bait when hunting. During setup, the bear comes across your character and they are mauled by the bear. Also, improbable but still technically in the realm of possibilities: your character fills a pumpkin shell with milk, honey and spices before placing it on an open fire. They cook the pumpkin so long that when they go to pick it up off of the fire, it breaks open, pouring the insides all over their hands and burning them. You can find this episode show notes and helpful links to learn more on my website, alleyhart. Com. That's A-L-L-E-Y- h-a-r-t. Com. Thanks for listening. Subscribe and follow for more episodes. Connect on my YouTube videos by dropping me a comment. A new episode comes out every Monday. Until then, happy wordsmithing!