University Folklore Codexery

Cornell University pumpkin prank

A pumpkin atop a tower sparked mystery and media frenzy.

The prank acquired national news coverage and a dedicated website with a webcam.[1] On October 8, 1997, students discovered a pumpkin had been placed on the 173-foot-tall McGraw Tower at Cornell University.[1][2] University spokesman David Brand said the pumpkin, which was about 2 feet across, had been carved so it would fit onto the rod.[3]

Quick Facts

Date placed
October 1997
Location
McGraw Tower, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Height
173 ft / 52.7 m
Pumpkin diameter
nearly 2 ft / 61 cm
Date removed
March 1998
Website views
700,000
Anniversary observances
2007, 2017

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

An unknown individual or group placed the pumpkin on the tower before October 8, 1997.[3] The perpetrators likely climbed the tower's staircase, moved through the bell cage without tripping wires, cut a lock, and climbed 20 ft up the steel roof.[4] University president Hunter R. Rawlings III joked that "it was me" and that he "stood on tippy toes"[5] The university stated it would consider bringing charges, and campus police investigated.[6]

Students placed a collection of pumpkins at the tower's base, and the university put up an orange fence with a sign reading "Beware of Falling Pumpkin"[7] The Cornell Daily Sun published a "Pumpkin Watch" on its front page for three weeks.[7][2] Physics and engineering students used remote-controlled weather balloons with drills and cameras to try to identify it.[8][2] A panel of plant biology professors later declared the object was a pumpkin.[3][2]

What the cited sources add

The Atlas Obscura account notes that the pumpkin was an "immediate classic" among Cornell pranks.[2] The pumpkin's website featured a "Pumpkin Cam" that received clicks from far-flung alumni and current staff.[2] An assistant professor of horticultural sciences doubted the object was a pumpkin, stating it was too hardy to be biotic.[2] The Cornell Chimes Newsletter described a confession from a University of Montana student named "Rob" to former Head Chimesmaster Courtney Kimball.[2]

Cornell historian Corey Ryan Earle called Kimball's account "the best source for how it happened".[2] Recently retired university archivist Gould Colman described the prank to the New York Times as "first-rate stuff, the best I've ever seen."[2]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Cornell University pumpkin prank" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Domonoske, "After 20 Years, Can Cornell Finally Bust Open Its Great Pumpkin Mystery?", NPR, 2017-10-31; Giaimo, "More Than 20 Years Later, Cornell's Great Pumpkin Mystery Remains Unsolved", Atlas Obscura, 2017-10-11 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Giaimo, "More Than 20 Years Later, Cornell's Great Pumpkin Mystery Remains Unsolved", Atlas Obscura, 2017-10-11. facts only, no text reused. atlasobscura.com
  3. Wikipedia, "Cornell University pumpkin prank" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Domonoske, "After 20 Years, Can Cornell Finally Bust Open Its Great Pumpkin Mystery?", NPR, 2017-10-31 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Cornell University pumpkin prank" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Conundrum at Cornell: Pumpkin's Lofty Perch", The New York Times, 1997-10-27; Giaimo, "More Than 20 Years Later, Cornell's Great Pumpkin Mystery Remains Unsolved", Atlas Obscura, 2017-10-11; "Conundrum at Cornell: Pumpkin's Lofty Perch", The New York Times, 1997-10-27; McFadden, "A Pumpkin and Hoopla at Cornell Go Splat", The New York Times, 1998-03-14; "Conundrum at Cornell: Pumpkin's Lofty Perch", The New York Times, 1997-10-27 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Cornell University pumpkin prank" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Conundrum at Cornell: Pumpkin's Lofty Perch", The New York Times, 1997-10-27 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Cornell University pumpkin prank" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McFadden, "A Pumpkin and Hoopla at Cornell Go Splat", The New York Times, 1998-03-14; "Conundrum at Cornell: Pumpkin's Lofty Perch", The New York Times, 1997-10-27 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Cornell University pumpkin prank" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Conundrum at Cornell: Pumpkin's Lofty Perch", The New York Times, 1997-10-27; Giaimo, "More Than 20 Years Later, Cornell's Great Pumpkin Mystery Remains Unsolved", Atlas Obscura, 2017-10-11; McFadden, "A Pumpkin and Hoopla at Cornell Go Splat", The New York Times, 1998-03-14; McFadden, "A Pumpkin and Hoopla at Cornell Go Splat", The New York Times, 1998-03-14; Domonoske, "After 20 Years, Can Cornell Finally Bust Open Its Great Pumpkin Mystery?", NPR, 2017-10-31; "Conundrum at Cornell: Pumpkin's Lofty Perch", The New Yo en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Cornell University pumpkin prank" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McFadden, "A Pumpkin and Hoopla at Cornell Go Splat", The New York Times, 1998-03-14; Giaimo, "More Than 20 Years Later, Cornell's Great Pumpkin Mystery Remains Unsolved", Atlas Obscura, 2017-10-11 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Cornell University pumpkin prank (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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