Get ready for a crash course in Halloween trivia!
When The Harris Poll asked 2,368 U.S. adults what their favorite holiday was, you might be surprised to learn that Halloween was number 3--beat out only by Christmas and Thanksgiving. And that fact is only the beginning of the fun Halloween trivia available to test your brain this week. (Spoiler alert: Wait 'til you hear how much cash we plunk down on this holiday.)
- More than 171 million Americans plan to celebrate Halloween this year.
- In 2016, people planned to spend an average of $82.93 per person, up from last year’s average of $74.34.
- The total Halloween spending in America is projected to be $6.9 billion this year.
- Even though Americans spend a lot on Halloween, they didn't come up with it. Ireland is usually credited with that.
- The word "Halloween" came from the Catholics, who termed this celebration "All Hollow's Eve."
- Oh but Celts came up with the idea of dressing up in costume.
- After World War 2 (and the rationing) ended, children's magazine "Jack and Jill," the radio program "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," and the "Peanuts" comics influenced readers to dress up and go door-to-door asking for candy.
- When "trick or treating" first started, kids had to dance to earn their treat.
- The most popular costume category is "superhero," followed by "princess."
- 41% shop for costumes in the first two weeks of October, 25% wait until the last two weeks.
- The first Jack-o-lanterns were made from turnips, not pumpkins.
- The largest pumpkin ever recorded, grown in 1993, was 836 pounds.
- There's also a world record for pumpkin carving. It's 24.03 seconds.
- The first record of the phrase "trick or treating" being referenced in print was in 1927. It was mentioned in a town called Blackie, which is in Alberta, Canada.
- 7 in 10 houses say they hand out candy.
- 17% look for Haloween ideas on Pinterest, while 17% got their inspiration from Facebook.
- 50% of houses will decorate or dress up in a costume.
- 50% of kids are hoping you'll put chocolate in their bags.
- In Hollywood, there's a $1,000 fine for buying or selling silly string on Halloween.
Photo Credit: Michelle L.
Sources:
- NRF
- USA Today
- TIME
- Dark Shadow Ghost Tours
- Huffington Post
Originally Published 10/27/2016
