Man, I love Halloween. It might even be my favorite holiday of the year. Candy and costumes -- what an awesome combo. Sure, as a mom, I'm not particularly fond of the heavy sugar intake but if my kids only puke once a year I figure I'm ahead of the game.
I still remember my first Halloween in Germany when we lived on a U.S. military post. Little German kids would come dressed in costume, walk up to our door, and speak tentatively to us in stilted English. "Halloween?" They would ask -- that is, they'd ask the first time. Once we put candy in their little bags they'd go to the next place and smile, "Halloween! Halloween!" I could only imagine what they were thinking. Probably something like, " My folks weren't lying about this crazy American holiday. This is so cool!" Only a few knew to say, "Trick or treat." We didn't care. The joy on their faces transcended the language barrier.
In celebration of the day, I've compiled a few fun Halloween facts. But first, another anecdote from earlier this week...
One of my son's teachers asked the class: "What do you get when you cross a teacher with a vampire?" Spoiler alert: The teacher's answer was "a teacher who gives blood tests." My son came up with a different answer. He yelled, "A teacher who sucks!"
His teacher was not amused.
As a fake punishment for his cleverness, I was going to share a silly Halloween photo of him when he was a baby. I stopped myself but, as penance for this almost betrayal, I'm posting an old Halloween photo my friend, Lisa, took of me:
I still remember my first Halloween in Germany when we lived on a U.S. military post. Little German kids would come dressed in costume, walk up to our door, and speak tentatively to us in stilted English. "Halloween?" They would ask -- that is, they'd ask the first time. Once we put candy in their little bags they'd go to the next place and smile, "Halloween! Halloween!" I could only imagine what they were thinking. Probably something like, " My folks weren't lying about this crazy American holiday. This is so cool!" Only a few knew to say, "Trick or treat." We didn't care. The joy on their faces transcended the language barrier.
In celebration of the day, I've compiled a few fun Halloween facts. But first, another anecdote from earlier this week...
One of my son's teachers asked the class: "What do you get when you cross a teacher with a vampire?" Spoiler alert: The teacher's answer was "a teacher who gives blood tests." My son came up with a different answer. He yelled, "A teacher who sucks!"
His teacher was not amused.
As a fake punishment for his cleverness, I was going to share a silly Halloween photo of him when he was a baby. I stopped myself but, as penance for this almost betrayal, I'm posting an old Halloween photo my friend, Lisa, took of me:
The costume was kinda sorta Kiss inspired, my one (failed) junior high attempt at being a rebel.
Okay, now for fun Halloween facts. Hope you enjoy them. If you're also interested in Halloween keyboard characters, click the bat.
Okay, now for fun Halloween facts. Hope you enjoy them. If you're also interested in Halloween keyboard characters, click the bat.
Otherwise, just read on. I hope you enjoy them and have a Happy Halloween!
FUN HALLOWEEN FACTS:
- $330 million dollars a year is spent on costumes -- pet costumes. All costumes combined? Over $2.5 billion. We spend about that much in candy, too. The estimated projection for Halloween candy sales in 2013: $2.25 billion.
- In Alabama, it's illegal to dress up as a priest.
- In Hollywood, California, there is a $1,000 fine if you use Silly String on Halloween.
- Jack-o-lanterns were first carved by the Irish. (The Halloween tradition began with the Celts.) They used turnips, rutabagas, and potatoes.
- As for records, Boston, Massachusetts holds it for the most pumpkin jack-o-lanterns lit at once. The number: 30,128. The largest pumpkin in 2013 was grown by Tim and Susan Mathison from California. The weight: 2032 pounds!
- In the United Kingdom, white cats are considered to bring bad luck instead of black ones, like in the United States.
- Michal Jackson's song "Thriller" is the most played Halloween song on U.S. radio stations.
- The highest grossing scary movies: 1. Jaws ($260MM), 2. World War Z ($202MM), 3. What Lies Beneath ($155MM) -- for the rest of them click here for the IMDb list.
- The movies that scared the poop out of me when I was a teenager: Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street. What scared me as an adult: The Ring. (shudder)
That's it. Be safe and try not to get too many cavities tonight!
photo credit for pumpkin photo:
FUN HALLOWEEN FACTS:
- $330 million dollars a year is spent on costumes -- pet costumes. All costumes combined? Over $2.5 billion. We spend about that much in candy, too. The estimated projection for Halloween candy sales in 2013: $2.25 billion.
- In Alabama, it's illegal to dress up as a priest.
- In Hollywood, California, there is a $1,000 fine if you use Silly String on Halloween.
- Jack-o-lanterns were first carved by the Irish. (The Halloween tradition began with the Celts.) They used turnips, rutabagas, and potatoes.
- As for records, Boston, Massachusetts holds it for the most pumpkin jack-o-lanterns lit at once. The number: 30,128. The largest pumpkin in 2013 was grown by Tim and Susan Mathison from California. The weight: 2032 pounds!
- In the United Kingdom, white cats are considered to bring bad luck instead of black ones, like in the United States.
- Michal Jackson's song "Thriller" is the most played Halloween song on U.S. radio stations.
- The highest grossing scary movies: 1. Jaws ($260MM), 2. World War Z ($202MM), 3. What Lies Beneath ($155MM) -- for the rest of them click here for the IMDb list.
- The movies that scared the poop out of me when I was a teenager: Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street. What scared me as an adult: The Ring. (shudder)
That's it. Be safe and try not to get too many cavities tonight!
photo credit for pumpkin photo:
By Matthew Gordon (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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