Friday, November 1, 2013
Fun Facts Friday- Autumn
1. When fall approaches, the green-colored food-making chlorophyll of plants is no longer needed, which is what leaves us with the other colors that had been overpowered all summer long:
Beautiful reds, oranges, yellows, and even purples!!
2. The pumpkin was first named by people in Greece, who called this orange edible a pepon, which means "large melon".
3. In addition to the brilliant colors of fall leaves, the autumn equinox signals another colorful spectacle the aurora borealis, also called the Northern Lights.
4. The pumpkin is a member of the gourd family, which is native to the Western Hemisphere. There is evidence to support that the natives of Mexico were eating gourds as early as 5500 BC.
5. Due to cooler temperatures you are naturally more likely to fall in love.
6. Indian Summer, this is when there is a heat wave in autumn which usually occurs between late September and mid November.
7. The smell of pumpkin pie is a natural aphrodisiac.
8. Pumpkins were once used to remove freckles and cure snake bites.
9. In Greek mythology it is said that in autumn Persephone (Goddess of Spring, daughter of Zeus
and the Harvest-Goddess Demeter) rejoins Hades in the underworld as his queen.
10. Red and purple leaves are actually caused by the presence of sugars from sap that is trapped inside of the leaves.
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10 is awesome! I always feel calmer in fall... so I definitely believe 5.
ReplyDeleteI love the colorful leaves of fall but hadn't thought about it being because they no longer have chlorophyll. Interesting. My grandkids always look forward to the night sky and the leaves of fall.
ReplyDeleteThese are great colorful fact finds! I'd love to see the arora borealis! I love fall - all the colors and also all the scents - I love the way the leaves smell!
ReplyDeleteWow, so many "I never knew that" in that list. Especially that the smell of pumpkin pie cooking is an aphrodisiac. Funny.
ReplyDeleteI love the Fall gourds. I usually lump pumpkin in with the winter squashes, but I also love those small "decorative" gourds. The gorgeous Fall colors are wonderful to me. I lived most of my life in Houston where it mostly stays green.
ReplyDeleteI love the information thank you. I know I like the Indian Summer I open the windows and the night air seems to help me sleep so well I wake rested and in a great mood.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of pumpkin removing freckles. I wonder if it actually works?!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that pumpkin is an aphrodesiac. I am so making him eat pie :D
ReplyDeleteI've got another to add to the list....I read that your finger and toe nails grow faster in the fall/winter...who knew?
ReplyDeleteI love the autumn equinox colors.
ReplyDeleteI love fall, the leaves are so beautiful with their brilliant colors.
ReplyDeletemintstatesportswear(at)juno(dot)com
The changing colors of leaves and the smell of them are some of my favorite parts of Fall.
ReplyDeleteI will be on the look out for the northern lights. Living here is Washington I've been able to see them a few times.
ReplyDeleteI never heard of pumpkins curing freckles, that's weird
ReplyDeleteyour niece informed me we have to go see northern lights next year!
ReplyDeletepumpkin removes freckles?
ReplyDeletePumpkins remove freckles?!?
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see the Northern Lights some day...think I'm a little too far south right now.
ReplyDeleteI love these facts! Pumpkins have a lot of good medicinal values. According to Wikipedia, "two compounds isolated from pumpkin paste and then fed daily to diabetic rats over six weeks, trigonelline and nicotinic acid, caused significant reductions in blood glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides, indicating improvement in the diabetic condition." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin Healthy stuff here! Let's hear it for pumpkins!
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