Quite Thought Full

Round. Orange. Grows on a vine from the ground. Different parts can be consumed in various ways or carved into a terrifying decoration in the hopes of scaring small children.

What is a pumpkin?     

Not even a week into the fall season and pumpkin-themed products are everywhere. There are, of course, the loveable coffee and tea drinks that throw pumpkin into their mix to create a new and seasonable fall flavor. There are the pumpkin cake muffins that friends discover because it is only appropriate to have them this time of year. There are pumpkin spice candles making every room delightful to walk into. There are delicious pumpkin flavored ales and ciders that only those of us of drinking age  can consume and only in moderation. And how could we forget the pumpkin festivals that take place in every town with enough cornfields for a corn maze and a few pumpkin patches outside of city limits.

So many pumpkins. So many delicious ways to enjoy.

Pumpkin is another seasonal taste, sight and smell that happens to take over whole sections of menus once we make the transition from summer into fall. While most people never want to let go of the warm sunshine and laziness of summer, others embrace the chilly breezes that greet you while out in the pumpkin patch anxiously awaiting the Great Pumpkin. While most don’t want to give up the sweet iced teas and fruity flavors of the summer, others embrace the pumpkin spice chai lattes paired with a pumpkin crunch bagel because they have been missing them all year round.

Or maybe that’s just me.  

The flavor of pumpkin lasts as long as the season of fall: not nearly long enough. Winter is breaking down the door September through November and before you can go out of your way to crunch on a few good leaves on the sidewalk, you are getting hit with reminders that the holiday season is only a few weeks away.

Before you can blink, pumpkin will be replaced with peppermint. And you didn’t even get to go pick out a pumpkin yet, let alone enjoy your grandma’s pumpkin cookies with cream cheese icing.

There’s another reason why people enjoy pumpkin besides the flavor of pumpkin or the fun of Jack-o-Lanterns on your front stoop.

A researcher at the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago found back in the ‘90s that, when combined with the scent of lavender or by itself, the smell of pumpkin is sexually arousing to both men and women. So, girls and boys, there’s an extra reason to go out and purchase any one of the multiple pumpkin fragranced candles and room sprays out there. You might end up with a date to that haunted house or hay ride you’ve been looking forward to.

So while you might complain about the unpredictable weather that occurs during the autumn season, try to enjoy it while it lasts and grab a pumpkin scone and pumpkin spiced coffee to keep away the cold.

Katie Walsh is a senior English and philosophy major and can be reached at walshk2@duq.edu.