Out in the Cornfields of Delaware, Pumpkins Fly Into the Sky
Nov 8th, 2009 by Alex
On a chilly Sunday morning, a small carload of folks drove out to Bridgeville, Delaware, for the 24th Annual World Championship Punkin Chunkin. Soon after we arrived, the morning gave way to an uncharacteristically warm November afternoon. We soon discovered firsthand some true marvels of engineering; air cannons, trebuchets, catapults, and centrifuges, all designed and built by amateur teams to fight the forces of gravity and chuck whitish pumpkins as far as mechanically possible.
It’s so simple, but it’s fascinating to watch a pumpkin rocketing out of sight into the blue sky. More entertaining is seeing them vaporizing upon impact with the ground.
There’s a line of these machines, each in its own pit. Each day for three days it starts at one end and progresses down the line, each team having three minutes to launch their pumpkin into the sky. After each device fires (or flings) its pumpkin, the whole crowd moves along down the line to follow the action. Pumpkins that hit the ground intact are measured for distance; exploding pumpkins (or pies) aren’t scored and are met with lots of “oohs” and “oh nos.”
Some of these pumpkins are being chucked several thousand feet, being propelled by nothing more than compressed air. One or two of the machines from this year cleared 4,000 feet. It’s generally believed that someone will eventually pass the one mile mark. As for the other machines, many are based on devices that were built and used in medieval times; the physics still work and seeing them in action is incredible.
The whole thing takes place in a cornfield. A twenty acre square cornfield. There’s a carnival-like atmosphere that pervades the grounds. There’s a Ferris wheel, games, live music, and raffles, all suitable for families with kids. There are food vendors, but some people choose to bring their own groceries. Many people bring their own beverages and coolers, rolling them along as they progress down the line. There aren’t many rules about what you can bring along, since the event takes place on private property. Everyone was incredibly friendly. It feels like amazement is a universal calming force.
The scale of everything makes it hard to document photographically. The machinery goes from silent and dormant to loud to spent and done in less than a second, so even video isn’t going to cut it a lot of the time. But it’s cool and definitely worth a trip out if the weather is good.
