American Fun – Punkin Chunkin

If you’re not lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with a bunch of marauding teens that find a use for your our old jack o’ lanterns (read: smash!), the residents of southern Delaware have solved the problem of getting rid of the molding gourds through FUN! Every year, thousands of people converge on a cornfield in rural Delaware for the World Champion Punkin Chunkin Festival, a massive contest/tailgate party in which spectators watch as contestants pit their pumpkin-launching machines against each other, attempting to set a new world record for the farthest pumpkin “chunked.” The contraptions range from catapults to pneumatic cannons, and the current world record is 4,483.51 feet! Now that’s using science for a good cause. How do you dispose of your pumpkins once Hallow’s Eve has come and gone? Just wait ’til you hear what you can do with a fruitcake!