The Truth About Jack-o-Lanterns

I had quite the day today, not a bad day, just hard.  It was the kind of day that just reaffirms why I want to be a teacher.  It's the students who really struggle with focus and behavior issues, that need a teacher who really cares and is going to make them a priority.  Today I saw those kids written off, and it's only October.  I spent my day making sure they knew they were capable, intelligent and caring.  In fact, I kind of played the Aibileen card (from The Help, great book).  I could almost hear myself saying, "You is kind, you is smart, you in important."  I know that I didn't exactly change a life today, but hopefully I changed their day.

So here I am, driving home, complaining to myself about teachers, and I come home to this:

Poor pumpkin!  You see, in my Pinterest obsession I saw a post that said putting Silica gel packets in a pumpkin would make them last longer.  Now, I tend to be skeptic and a scientist, so  I decided to try it out for myself.  I did some research on the best way to preserve a Jack-o-Lantern and set up an experiment to put them to the test.

The first method I tried was the silica gel packets.  After I had carved the pumpkins, I placed three packets inside in hopes that they absorb any excess moisture.  This is the pumpkin after four days:

Starting to wilt, for lack of a better word, but not too bad.  But this is the pumpkin after nine days:

He has completely collapsed on himself.  But on the bright side, the silica gel packets have ensured that it didn't shrivel into a mushy moldy mess!  In short, silica doesn't work!

I also tried a method where after cutting you rub bleach on the cut parts and then rub some petroleum jelly over the cut parts.  The theory is that the bleach kills anything living in the pumpkin and the petroleum jelly keeps in the moisture which keeps it fresh.  This this that pumpkin after 4 days:

Not so bad, and the droopy lip kind of adds character.  But this is the same pumpkin after 9 days:

Yeah, that's gross!  Keeping in the moisture just made it soggy and it bred mold like crazy, despite the bleach treatment.  Don't do it!!!!!  This method is too  much work, for no reward.

Now in defense of these two pumpkins, they were older than the last pumpkin, but I was hoping that the different treatments would preserve them.  Here is the plain old Jack-o-Lantern, my control, now:

Looking good Jack!  So the moral of the story is that a young and fresh Jack-o-Lantern is the best, no treatment necessary.  That little guy made my day, because as bummed as I was feeling on the way home, a Jack-o-Lantern reminded me that it's only fall and things can change.  For the sake of those sweet, but misguided children, I may have to be that force of change and I can handle that.

Happy Fall!