🕷️ Creepy Creatures (AHH!) 🕸️
🦇 Haunted Halloweeeen 🧛
🍭 I WANT CANDY! 🍬
🧟Chilling Costumes🧛
🎃Phantasmal Pumpkins👹
100
Found in Mexico, South and Central America, these winged mammals have a diet of...blood!
Vampire Bat
While much of the world sleeps, vampire bats emerge from dark caves, mines, tree hollows, and abandoned buildings in Mexico and Central and South America. Vampire bats glide stealthily through the night air as they search for food. Like the legendary monster that they’re named after, these small mammals drink the blood of other animals for survival. They feed on cows, pigs, horses, and birds. Found in Mexico and Central and South America, vampire bats even occasionally bite humans for blood. (But it’s very rare!)
100
What day is Halloween on?
October 31st!
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago, mostly in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.
100
These bite sized sweet milk chocolate treats are often wrapped in silver foil and are made by one of the most popular chocolate companies in the world.
Hershey's Kisses
When it comes to the name of the candy, the Hershey Archives say that no one really knows for sure who came up with the name. Some say that could have been coined from the sound the chocolate machine made when the chocolate came out of it. Others say that the word ‘kiss’ was a common confectionary term at the time to refer to a small piece of candy. Milton Hershey filed a trademark for Hershey’s Kisses back in 1921.
100
Some of the most popular costumes of this era were a Hula Girl, Rocky and Bulwinkle, Barbie and Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's (a movie that came out at the beginning of this decade).
The 1960s!
Other popular costumes were influenced by the music and movies of the time, with many groups of kids dressing up like the Fab Four Beatles, couples going as Sonny and Cher, as well as Elizabeth Taylor from Cleopatra and Mia Farrow from Rosemary's Baby.
100
What are the pumpkins which we carve spooky and silly faces into and illuminate with candles for Halloween called?
Jack-O-Lanterns!
The first Jack-o-Lanterns weren’t made from pumpkins at all. They were made from turnips! A folk tale said that “Stingy Jack” tried to trick the devil into paying for his bar tab. After Jack died, the devil wouldn’t let Jack cross over to the afterlife. Instead, he had to wander the Earth at night, lit by a single coal. He put his coal in a hollowed out turnip, and earned the nickname “Jack of the Lantern.” This Irish tale led to the tradition of carving turnips in Jack’s likeness, to keep him at bay.
200
These creatures have a poison that is said to be 15 times stronger than rattlesnake venom.
Black Widow Spider
Black widows are poisonous arachnids—animals that have a skeleton outside their body, a segmented body, and eight jointed legs. They are not insects. Their deadly poison is said to be 15 times stronger than rattlesnake venom. Black widows use a silk-like substance to weave tangled-looking webs, typically close to the ground in covered or dark places, such as near drain pipes or under logs. The female hangs upside down in the web to await her prey, exposing her bright markings as a warning to potential predators.
200
True or False: The average age most kids stop trick or treating is 13.
True!
In the early years of childhood, children eagerly wait until the night they can put on their costumes and join in the fun. Usually, the ages 4-12 years old are considered the best time to trick or treat. But as children enter their teenage years, the question of whether to go out or not becomes more complex. Some younger teens may continue because the magic and fun of Halloween is still a cultural part of the age group. The acceptable age for trick-or-treating may just depend on community norms. In some places, it is customary for teens to continue trick-or-treating until their 16 or even 18 years old.
200
These vibrant little candies have a thin candy shell with chocolate insides.
M&M's
In the 1930s, Forrest Mars Sr., son of the Mars Company founder, Frank C. Mars, saw soldiers in the Spanish Civil War eating British-made Smarties. These are chocolate pellets with a colored shell of what confectioners call hard panning (essentially hardened sugar syrup) surrounding the outside, preventing the sweets (candies) from melting. Mars received a patent for his own process on March 3, 1941.
200
Popular Halloween costumes in this era included men like Elvis Presley, Willy Wonka, Don Corleone from The Godfather and president at the time, Richard Nixon.
The 1970s!
Media at the time greatly influenced costume choices, including Marcia Brady from The Brady Bunch, Dr. Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Charlie's Angels, various Star Wars characters, Michael Myers from the movie Halloween and Rocky Balboa.
200
True or False: A pumpkin is a fruit.
True!
Pumpkins are actually classified as gourds. Other members of the gourd family include cucumbers, watermelons, zucchini, and honeydew melons. They are also categorized as winter squash, which are botanically classified as fruits rather than vegetables.
300
This slender, snake-like creature lives in small caves underwater and can be a bit shocking to see!
Electric Eel
The electric eel gets its name from its shocking abilities! Special organs in the eel’s body release powerful electric charges of up to 650 volts—that’s more than five times the power of a standard United States wall socket! Although electric eels have the power to be the bullies of the Amazon, they are actually not very aggressive animals. The eel uses its shock to stun prey and keep predators at bay.
300
How many pounds of candy corn are produced every year?
a. 1 million
b. 13 million
c. 35 million
d. 100 million
c. 35 million!
A whopping 35 million pounds of candy corn is made every year—amounting to about 9 billion pieces. Candy corn actually went by a different name in the early 1900s: Chicken Feed!
300
These sugary tri colored candies are a controversial Halloween staple, you either love them or hate them!
Candy Corn
Candy corn has existed for more than 100 years. According to legend, a Wunderlee Candy Company employee named George Renninger invented the confection in the 1880s. The Goelitz Candy Company (now Jelly Belly Candy Company) started producing candy corn around the turn of the century and continues the tradition today. Candy corn first appeared when the United States was a largely agrarian society, and its tri-color design was considered revolutionary.
300
In this decade, popular costumes included singers like Michael Jackson and Madonna as well as movie characters like Freddy Kreuger, Indiana Jones, E.T. and Beetlejuice.
The 1980s!
Surprisingly, one of the most popular 80s Halloween costumes was members of The California Raisins. But how did a bunch of raisins start making hit music? In the 1980s, the California Raisin Advisory Board came up with an idea to boost slowing raisin sales. Fast-forward to a group of claymation raisins singing and dancing to “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” and the rest is history. The California Raisins were a viral sensation before the days of viral sensations.
300
Where is the pumpkin capital of the world?
a. Morton, Illinois
b. Orange County, California
c. Ludwigsburg, Germany
d. Queensland, Australia
a. Morton, Illinois
In 1978, the Governor of Illinois signed a proclamation that Morton, Illinois was the “Pumpkin Capital of the World” since 85% of the world’s canned pumpkin was processed at their Libby’s Pumpkin plant. The pumpkins they carry are paler and more oblong than a typical jack-o’-lantern, like faded waterlogged footballs. They come exclusively from farms within 100 miles of the factory. Libby’s says factory workers can the pumpkins within 24 hours of harvesting.
400
These colossal undersea creatures are rarely seen by humans and can grow at least 33 feet long.
Giant Squid!
The giant squid is massive and when full grown can be at least 33 feet long. These mysterious eight-armed creatures are rarely seen by humans. Most of what we know about them comes from finding them washed up on beaches. The largest of these hard-to-find giants ever found measured 59 feet in length and weighed nearly a ton. Giant squid, along with their cousin, the colossal squid, have beach-ball size eyes!
400
There is only one holiday which surpasses Halloween in annual consumer sales, do you know which one it is?
Christmas!
About 90% of Americans celebrate Christmas but only 65% take part in Halloween. However, Halloween is still the second most celebrated holiday in the U.S.
400
These iconic candies are coated with chocolate made by the Hershey's company, then completed with a sweet and salty filling.
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
The ingenious flavor combination in each of these treats can be traced back to 1928, when H.B. Reese, an employee of The Hershey Company, created REESE’S Peanut Butter Cups in his basement. The Hershey Company supplied Reese with the chocolate coating for his candy and eventually purchased his business in 1963. His invention ranks pretty high on the list of modern marvels.
400
Popular costumes for this decade included the Terminator, Barney, the Power Rangers, Spice Girls and Austin Powers.
The 1990s!
Pop culture has always been a defining feature of Halloween in any era, with superheroes, Disney and video game characters becoming a distinguishing factor in separating 90s costumes from the tried and true witches, monsters and other staples of Halloween.
400
How do pumpkins grow?
Bonus: Where do they grow?
Pumpkins start from a seed, growing from the ground outside into long vines with large leaves. Pumpkin leaves convert sunshine, water, and carbon dioxide into food the plant can use to produce roots, flowers, and pumpkins. Pumpkin plants grow as a vine, which can easily reach 20 to 30 feet long in the course of a growing season.
Bonus: Everywhere! (except Antarctica)
500
This creepy primates can only be found in the forests of Madagascar, spending most of their lives in trees and are mainly active at night. They are named after their most noticeable feature, can you guess it?
Aye-Aye!
Crouching on a tree branch, a hairy animal that looks like a cross between a raccoon and a rat lifts a long finger and taps on the trunk. It’s not politely knocking to see who’s home. Instead it’s trying to locate hollow spots beneath the bark where insects live. (It can tell that it’s found a cavity by the sound of the tapping.) Once it detects a hollow, the animal rips away the bark with its teeth and gobbles up the bugs.
500
What are some popular Halloween songs? What is your favorite spooky song?
Monster Mash, Somebody's Watching Me, Thriller, This is Halloween, The Addams Family and Munsters theme song, Ghostbusters and Thriller.
500
These chalky candies famously (or infamously) had the slogan "Just Like Dad!" on them.
Candy Cigarettes
If you were a kid during or before the 60’s and early 70’s, you may remember having plenty of access to these guys. Catchy and controversial, this candy had a divided following. The history of candy cigarettes goes all the way back to the early 1930’s, when the candy was first introduced to the American market. Back then, smoking wasn’t seen as the health concern it is today, so the public didn't think it was a super big deal to allow children to pretend to smoke with these sugary imitations.
500
This era was full of extravagant Halloween parties thrown by young upper- and middle-class Victorians, with guests dressing in their best clothes and costumes.
The 1890s!
The end of the 1800s brought about new and interesting traditions that would be carried on into the next century. The Victorian era ushered in a new way to celebrate Halloween. Departing from previous decades of an All Saint's Day that involved visiting the gravesites of loved ones that had passed and communing with the dead, Victorians subdued the holiday to fit with a society concerned with morality, temperance and quaint socializing. Halloween became a night of lavish partying with games that revolved around all things romance.
500
What are some foods you can make with pumpkins?
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Pumpkin pie, bread, muffins, soup curry, cake, risotto and spiced lattes!
Fall’s early hallmarks are here: kids are back in school, slightly cooler weather has arrived in most places, and all things pumpkin are returning to stores. From actual pumpkins to ice cream to dog treats, pumpkin rules the season. What is your favorite pumpkin treat?