A Minnesota horticulture teacher set a world record in California on Monday for the heaviest pumpkin after growing a giant jack-o’-lantern gourd weighing 2,749 pounds (1,247 kilograms).

Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minnesota, won the 50th World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, California, with an enormous, lumpy, orange pumpkin that could produce at least 687 pies.

“I was not expecting that. It was quite the feeling,” said Gienger, 43, who has been growing pumpkins for nearly 30 years and last year set a new U.S. record for growing a giant gourd.

  • @[email protected]
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    1 year ago

    I didn’t know the world record was so seemingly achievable. I just saw a 2000+lb pumpkin at my stupid local contest, wasn’t even a state fair. Those last 750lbs are difficult, I’m sure.

    • @davidgro
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      1 year ago

      I assume that’s the general pattern for most World’s ______est ________. An obvious example is some Olympic world records where second place is a few hundredths of a second behind, and 100th place is maybe 5 seconds. Those last few seconds/pounds/whatever make all the difference in the world at the highest levels of competitions.

      • @lennybird
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        41 year ago

        Yeah being the 99th percentile makes you pretty darn good, but it’s really the top 1/10th if not 100th of 1 percent that competition for the “best” begins.

      • @RizzRustbolt
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        11 year ago

        And then there’s women’s 800m freestyle swimming.

  • no banana
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    51 year ago

    That is positively the largest pumpkin I’ve ever seen.

  • @Ginrai
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    21 year ago

    Who would downvote this?!

  • @EmpathicVagrant
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    -201 year ago

    Meanwhile people are unable to get food or water for themselves but farms can overgrow crops for funsies.

    • @Frozengyro
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      281 year ago

      No one’s allowed any fun unless all suffering ends. This makes sense.

    • Drusas
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      151 year ago

      He’s not a farmer, he’s a teacher. It says it right in the body of the post.

    • @shalafi
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      61 year ago

      Ever grown a pumpkin, or a gourd of any sort? It’s a giant ball of water and cell walls.

      Save your rage for something meaningful kid.

    • @[email protected]
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      11 year ago

      Also said in the article the pumpkin could make something like 647 or 847 pies or whatever. Is that not food?