Flying Pumpkins
I once saw the “Punkin Chunkin” special, I think it was on the Discovery Channel or
TLC. I have to admit it was rather fascinating. These guys were serious about
the sport/art/hobby of “Punkin Chunkin”. They put some big money and time into this
relatively expense hobby.
Seeing that it is pumpkin month I guess they are getting warmed up for years competition
and The Washington Post has a nice
article on the festivities.
There once was a time when Ray Tolson thought the sport of “Punkin Chunkin” sounded
as crazy as can be, when the notion of spending as much as $200,000 to build a 100-foot-long
“gun” designed to fire a pumpkin nearly a mile seemed silly.>
But that was another Ray Tolson, a Ray Tolson who didn’t study air pressure and
cloud speed in search of the perfect “air shelf” where an 8- to 10-pound pumpkin could
sail perfectly. Who didn’t commission university horticulturists to breed pumpkins
that are precisely 9.5 inches in diameter, round and with a thick skin — the perfect
projectile.
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