Prize pumpkin tips scale at 492 kilograms, gained 16 kg-a-day at peak

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2005/10/07/1252824-ap.html


MILTON, W.Va. (AP) - It took five men and a forklift to get Ron and Sue Boor's prize pumpkin onto the scale at the West Virginia Pumpkin Festival. The verdict: 492 kilograms, a record for the event.

"They told me I shouldn't have grown it so big," Ron Boor said.

Boor and his wife raised the pumpkin in Tyler County, a three-hour drive from Milton.

The have toiled in their pumpkin patch since May. The couple installed an irrigation system and shade tent, attended gardening seminars and watered pumpkins endlessly. At the prize pumpkin's peak growth, it grew about 16 kg a night and consumed about 750 litres of water per day.

"I say it's worse than raising a baby," Sue Boor said.

The Boors have raised large pumpkins since 1990. Their previous record was 322 kg.

"Our goal was originally to raise a 450 kg. pumpkin, but now that we've done that, we just have to shoot higher," Sue Boor said.

The festival's 10 largest pumpkins will be auctioned Sunday, with proceeds benefiting local scholarships. The Boors' pumpkin will be carved into a jack-o'-lantern and delivered to the winning bidder. Its seeds will sell for about $25 each.

In truth, the Canadians just translated everything to SI.

The AP story used in the US:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051006/ap_on_fe_st/half_ton_pumpkin;_ylt=AoQPotH5nei5kFGzjF7yIQTtiBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
<<Thu Oct 6, 5:59 PM ET



MILTON, W.Va. - It took five men and a forklift to get Ron and Sue Boor's prize pumpkin onto the scale at the West Virginia Pumpkin Festival. The verdict: 1,085 pounds, a record for the event.

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"They told me I shouldn't have grown it so big," Ron Boor said.

Boor and his wife raised the pumpkin in Tyler County, a three-hour drive from Milton.

The have toiled in their pumpkin patch since May. The couple installed an irrigation system and shade tent, attended gardening seminars and watered pumpkins endlessly. At the prize pumpkin's peak growth, it grew about 35 pounds a night and consumed about 200 gallons of water per day.

"I say it's worse than raising a baby," Sue Boor said.

The Boors have raised large pumpkins since 1990. Their previous record was 710 pounds.

"Our goal was originally to raise a 1,000-pound pumpkin, but now that we've done that, we just have to shoot higher," Sue Boor said.

The festival's 10 largest pumpkins will be auctioned Sunday, with proceeds benefiting local scholarships. The Boors' pumpkin will be carved into a jack-o'-lantern and delivered to the winning bidder. Its seeds will sell for about $25 each.>>

<<In truth, the Canadians just translated everything to SI.>>

Personally, I find the presence of kilograms most intriguing. The "metric" Canada doesn't really fancy the kg much. People cite their weight in pounds, buy their produce and meat by the pound, etc. Kilograms seem to be as foreign to them as to us.

However, maybe the kilo is making some inroads. Driving through Canada recently, I've heard some banter on some Toronto station about the weight of a Thanksgiving turkey. First they said the weight in pounds, but then backtracked, giving its weight in kilograms, followed by a short discussion on using kilograms nowadays.

Oh, Canada!

Canadian deli counters are increasing pricing per 100 g, thus eliminating the need to dual price. Products still being priced in pounds are those with a fixed weight (like a 5 lb bag of apples), where you just buy what is there and can't select out what you don't want.

When you take away the pound pricing, people gradually start to work in grams and kilograms. Like the UK, stores in Canada sell by metric amounts and have only metric scales. If a pound is asked for, it must be translated first into grams before the sale can be made.

Daniel,

Like the UK, have you not been to Canada too?

I've been to Canada many times. I live about 50 km from the border.

It might be better to tell us what you actually saw then.