Halloween and the end of Blogtober

Well, it's done.  Blogtober comes to an end with tonight's post.  I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing.  LBA and SoBA have just returned from reeling in the sweet treats of our little town.  Mrs. BA went out and bought LBA a "crystal skull" (actually just a glitter Styrofoam one - but it worked) because the whip is not an approved accessory at school.  But the whip did go out trick or treating.

Here's a list to wrap up the month with "24 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Halloween."

1. The first jack-o'-lanterns were actually made from turnips.
2. Thousands of people suffer from Samhainophobia which is an irrational fear of Halloween.
3. The world's largest pumpkin weighed in at 1,872 pounds.
4. Halloween is the second highest grossing commercial holiday after Christmas.
5. Americans purchase over 20 million pounds of Candy Corn each year.
6. The number one candy of choice is Snickers, followed by Reese's, Kit-Kats and M&Ms.
7. It's estimated that total Halloween spending could reach $8 billion in 2012. That's over $79 per household.
8. In Alabama it's illegal to dress-up as a priest.
9. In Hollywood there's a $1,000 fine for using Silly String on Halloween.
10. According to legend, if you see a spider on Halloween, it's actually the spirit of a loved one watching over you. (I still don't like them)
11. October 30th is National Candy Corn Day.
12. It's is actually very rare for a full moon to occur on Halloween. Although, it's predicted to occur on 10/31/2020. It also happened in 1925, 1944, 1955, and 1974.
13. While pumpkins are typically orange, they can also be green, white, red and gray.
14. Ireland is believed to be the birthplace of Halloween. It was originally a Celtic festival called Samhain which celebrated the harvest.
15. Willow Smith, Dan Rather, and Vanilla Ice were all born on October 31st.
16. Magician Harry Houdini died on Halloween.
17. In the UK white cats are thought to bring bad luck, not like black cats in the US.
18. Have leftover candy? Save it! Hard candy lasts for a year, while chocolate can last up to two.
19. Halloween can give you diarrhea. Seriously. Consuming too much candy with fructose and sorbitol can give you rhea. 
20. Barmbrack used to be a traditional food eaten on Halloween. The bread contained various objects baked into it and was used as a sort of fortune-telling game. 
21. Contrary to popular belief, no one has put razor blades or poison in goodies for random trick-or-treaters. The only documented cases have been pranks gone awry or parents poisoning their own children. 
22. Many shelters don't allow black cats to be adopted around Halloween for fear that they may be tortured or sacrificed.
23. More candy is sold on October 28th than any other day of the year. The top five candy selling days of the year are all in October. 
24. Finally, your ghost costume isn't authentic unless you poop in it. Seriously, ghosts are believed to keep the same form they had at death and a side effects of death is involuntary defecation.