Schools
500-lb Pumpkin Falls 9-Stories for Halloween Tradition at UCSD [Video]
The hefty pumpkin prematurely fell from a 9-story building on UC San Diego's campus on Halloween for the college's 39th annual Pumpkin Drop.
Students dropped a 500-pound pumpkin from 9-story Tamarack Hall on UC San Diego's campus Thursday afternoon. The annual Halloween tradition brought hundreds of students out of classrooms, libraries and dorms to see the largest pumpkin yet fall to the courtyard below.
Usually students count down to the drop, but the pumpkin was let go early this year. A large crane swung the pumpkin out over the side of the building and quickly released it. Another new twist this year, was that the pumpkin was not stuffed with candy. Students got to enjoy treats free from pumpkin guts!
This is the third year Jon Berndes, a local grower from Alpine, donated a prize pumpkin—a hefty 500-pound beauty.
The splat or spray of pumpkin guts are measured each year. The largest splat in the history of the pumpkin drop occurred in 1995, when a 398-pound pumpkin spewed over 100 feet.
Students enjoyed treats after the pumpkin drop at a nearby Halloween Carnival with candy and pumpkin pie.
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