Cardinal's Tweets

By Cindy Cardinal

I don’t know about the rest of you, but Autumn is my favorite season of the year. Summer isn’t quite over, but with the start of school, thoughts turn to fall. Hopefully, it will be a long one. We don’t need any snow until Christmas. I know the deer hunters will disagree. So let’s do some fall trivia facts this week.

• The Autumn Equinox is the official start to fall for us, but meteorological fall will start September 1,
• The official word for the sound of leaves and trees rustling in the wind is Psithurism.
• The full corn moon occurs in September.
• Leaves are naturally yellow and orange in color, but chlorophyll makes them appear green until fall when chlorophyll production slows down due to less sunlight.
• It is more humid in a corn maze than in a pumpkin patch because corn sweats.
• More babies are born in September than any other month.
• The smell of the first rain in fall is called Petrichor.
• Pumpkin is a fruit, not a vegetable, and the largest pumpkin on record weighed 2,702 pounds.
• If you throw a pumpkin in water, it will float.
• A fear of pumpkins is called cucurbitophobia.
• Candy corn was originally called chicken feed. I am not a chicken, so maybe that is why I don’t like this stuff.
• Felix the Cat was the first balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
• Fall was originally called Harvest and was named for the Harvest Moon..
• You can make 21 pies from a bushel of apples.
• Evergreen trees don’t change colors because the leaves are coated with a waxy substance that protects them from the cold.
• America is the only country where the word “fall” describes this time of year. It is a slang term from the 1600s that was adapted based on poetry about falling leaves.
• The longest migration flight for a bird is made by Arctic Terns that fly over 44,000 miles per year.
• People tend to gain weight in the fall as the gradual loss of sunshine triggers the body to store fat in preparation for cold temperatures.
• If you are superstitious, catch a falling autumn leaf and you will have good luck all day.
• Couples are most likely to get engaged in the fall.
• Why do we vote on a Tuesday in November? Originally, it was to allow farmers the time they needed to travel from rural areas to vote in the city. Monday was a travel day and November was a month when farmers could leave the farm without putting crops at risk.
• Have you ever heard, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”? It may be partially true as eating apples can stimulate weight loss and reduce the risk of diabetes.
• This is one of the few times a year when Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn are visible at dusk, so start gazing skyward.

If this isn’t enough to get you to start wishing for that autumn time of year, just think football, rosy cheeks, cozy fires, pumpkin pie, hot apple cider, and watching nature change her dress as she prepares for winter.