Saturday, October 30, 2010

Hallowe'en

Fall is my favorite season and Hallowe'en is my favorite holiday. I like carving jack-o'-lanterns, I like eating all the pumpkin bread and candy, I like listening to certain scary soundtracks [1], etc. In honor of this wonderful holiday, I'm going to share a few facts I've learned:
  • Contrary to popular belief, jack-o'-lanterns didn't originate in Ireland as turnips—they originated in America in the mid-1800s.[2]
  • The pronunciation of the world Halloween can be used as a shibboleth to discover nefarious aliens in our midst. If someone pronounces it HAL-o-WEEN (mouseover for IPA), they're Homo sapiens. If they pronounce it HOLL-o-WEEN, kill them—they're an alien.
  • Trick-or-treating was originally called souling and involved poor people going around on Hallowmas (November 1), begging for food in exchange for prayers for the dead.[3]
  • Despite the many urban legends asserting as much, there are no reliable recorded instances of Hallowe'en candy being poisoned or filled with razor blades.[4]
  • Trunk-or-treats cause brain lesions in both children and adults who participate in them, so please take your children door-to-door.
  • Hallowe'en is the night children are least likely to be assaulted by a child molester.[5]
  • Melster Peanut Butter Kisses aren't really candy. And they don't taste good. At all. Please refrain from buying them or giving them away. Please.
And now, the jack-o'-lanterns we've carved over the last few years:

2004


Matt's

2005


I was a mad scientist that year.

2007


Leann's                                             Matt's

2008


Leann's


Matt's

2009


Matt's

As you can see, I'm a little taken with the idea of doing just spooky eyes.

2010


Leann's                                             Matt's

Bonus points for the first person who can say what mine is supposed to be.


Notes:

[1] e.g. Signs, Jaws, The Twilight Zone, The Village, The Mummy, Edward Scissorhands, etc.



[4] See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoned_candy_scare. There actually is a single case, but it was the child's father who poisoned the candy, hoping to cash in on insurance money. He was executed for his crimes in 1984. See also http://www.snopes.com/horrors/poison/halloween.asp. Despite the low likelihood of poisoning or sharp objects in your child's candy, it's still a good idea to check their candy before letting them eat any.

3 comments:

  1. Yours is Portal. Ha ha! Nice Matt! Camille was wondering if those gross Melster Peanut Butter Kisses are the ones wrapped in orange and black? And I just wanted to say I love the fun facts! Very funny and factual!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Click on the links and you'll see what Melster Peanut Butter Kisses are. Blech!

    ReplyDelete