
A large pumpkin impaled on the spire 173 feet up caught the attention of Cornell students, faculty, and staff who were strolling by McGraw Tower on a brisk autumn morning on Wednesday, October 8, 1997.
The pumpkin remained atop McGraw Tower for 158 days, enduring a grueling fall, a severe winter, and a brief spring. Two questions were posed by Cornellians: Whodunit? Is it true?
No one was aware.
Like swim tests, Dragon Day, or commemorating Theodore Zinck, Cornell history is intricately linked to the mystery surrounding the pumpkin.

Thanks to coverage in The New York Times in late October, word of the practical joke gained long-lasting notoriety. Until Halloween, the Cornell Daily Sun published a daily “Pumpkin Watch” feature. Additionally, Matt Lauer conducted a live campus interview with Sun Editor-in-Chief Hilary Krieger ’98 for the “Today” show. A pumpkin-themed story and photo from the Associated Press made their way into hundreds of newspapers. Radio interviews were accepted from all around the country by the Cornell News Service, which was the forerunner of the Media Relations Office. MTV and CNN both ran reports.
Playfully, the campus lost its mind. Pumpkin lyrics for the Alma Mater were created by Cornell Chorus and Cornell Glee Club. A webcam from Olin Library provided live images 24 hours a day, which was new at the time.

The university constructed scaffolding to repoint the mortar on McGraw Tower in January 1998, after a century. The partially rotten pumpkin remained intact.
Provost Don M. Randel organized a competition for students to judge whether or not the pumpkin was real early in the spring semester.
Pumpkin samples were snared by physics majors Jon Branscomb ’98, Eldar Noe ’98, Fred Ciesla ’98, and Samuel J. Laroque ’98 using a remote-controlled balloon and some Rube Goldberg creativity. They discovered that the cored gourd provided ventilation, enabling the pumpkin to dry naturally while writing a thirty-page report. According to the report, it had turned into “a leathery husk, that could cling to the spire for decades.”

The media excitement persisted. The Chorus and Glee Club sang, “Far above Cayuga’s waters, with its waves of blue, stands our noble orange pumpkin, glorious to view,” during a feature report about the pumpkin that aired on ABC News’ “World News Tonight” in March. The lyrics were displayed at the bottom of the screen, and viewers could follow along with a bouncing pumpkin.
Randel was supposed to climb McGraw Tower in a gondola lifted by a crane on Friday, March 13, 1998, in order to get the pumpkin.
The group won top prize of $250, and each team member was given a signed lithograph of Charles Schulz’s “The Great Pumpkin” cartoon and a Cornell pumpkin T-shirt.
For the removal, Cornell faculty, staff, and students congregated in Ho Plaza. Many wore celebratory pumpkin T-shirts, Cornell dairy served pumpkin ice cream, and staff members created cakes shaped like pumpkins and the tower.
Related Topic You Might Find Interesting:
- Death Valley’s sailing stones mystery SOLVED
- The mysterious GIANT spherical stones
- Poland’s Krzywy: The Mysteries of the Crooked trees
However, mishaps with pumpkin parties do occur. A gust of wind caused the gondola to crash into the pumpkin during the crane test, breaking it and sending it smashing onto the scaffold planks, frozen solid from the previous night’s chill.
Following the pumpkin’s removal from the scaffold, Randel appointed John Kingsbury, a plant biologist, to head a commission to investigate it.
The culprits behind the pumpkin haven’t come to light twenty years later. However, in April 1998, the issue of whether the gourd was real was settled. The Kingsbury commission verified the object with a fitting fanfare in the Memorial Room of Willard Straight Hall, summarizing it in four words: “It is a pumpkin.”

Sandy Island: The Phantom Island That Fooled Maps and Google Earth for Centuries
Sandy Island, charted since 1774, was long considered a phantom island in the Coral Sea. Despite appearing on maps and Google Earth, it was "undiscovered" by scientists in 2012, revealing only deep ocean instead of land. The island's existence was likely a cartographic error or a misidentified pumice raft.

Qasr al-Farid, the Lonely Castle of the Nabataeans
The remote tomb of Qasr al-Farid, situated in the Saudi Arabian desert, dates back to the 1st Century CE. It was built by the Nabataean people, who also built Petra in Jordan. This site has remained largely undisturbed.

10 Rarest and Albino animals you haven’t seen
For centuries, people have been fascinated and enchanted by the ghostly appearances of abnormally white animals. People have loved albinos and other unusually white animals so much that they may be helping to increase their numbers, despite the difficulties these animals face in the wild. While these unusual animals did not win the genetic lottery, they have persevered in the face of adversity.

The birth or sign language in Nicaragua
When 50 deaf Nicaraguan children who did not know sign language were placed in the same classroom, they created their own sign language. Scientists are still researching the unique spontaneous appearance of language, as well as its own evolution and training of grammar.

Mysterious ghost ship found with mummified captain inside [SOLVED]
German captain had been sailing the world for 20 years. It was unknown when or how he died or how long the ghost ship had been adrift

The Mystery of Puma Punku’s Precise Stonework
Pumapunku's stone blocks were meticulously carved and polished to interlock with neighboring stones, forming a puzzle-like structure. The joints between them are incredibly precise. These characteristics show an intricate knowledge of descriptive geometry and stone cutting, indicating the use of highly advanced technology that would have seemed impossible at the time.

The Mystery of the Dancing Forest: Reasons behind the unusual wonders of forest
The Dancing Forest in Russia is noted for its unusually twisted pine trees. The trunks of these trees are contorted into spirals, rings, and other squiggly loops, but the reason for this malformation is still a mystery.

The Mysterious Disappearance of Frederick Valentich: Australia’s Most Baffling Aviation Enigma
In 1978, Pilot Frederick Valentich and his plane disappeared in Australia. His last communication was “Melbourne that strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again… (two seconds open microphone)… it is hovering and it’s not an aircraft…”

[solved] “macaroni mystery”, 500 pounds of pasta dumped in new jersey
In April 2023, Old Bridge, New Jersey, faced a peculiar 'Macaroni Mystery' when 500 pounds of pasta were mysteriously dumped in the woods.

Mahabalipuram: The mystery behind Lord Krishna's butterball that defies gravity
Krishna's Butter Ball is a massive rock in Mahabalipuram, Tamilnadu, India, that is perfectly balanced on a slope. An attempt was made in 1908 to remove the rock for fear that it would roll down and destroy nearby homes, but the efforts were wasted.

Lightning bolt restores man’s sight and hearing.
In 1980, an old blind and partially deaf man, Edwin Robinson, was struck by lightning. He suffered no injuries, but the impact of the lightning bold cured his vision and hearing.

The story of a boy who claims to be on Mars: Boriska Kipriyanovich
Boriska Kipriyanovich, who lives in Volgograd, Russia, claims he lived on Mars before being resurrected on Earth on a mission to redeem humanity. What we know about him is as follows:

Recipient of suicide victim's heart kills himself 12 years later
In 1995, Sonny Graham received a transplanted heart from a suicide victim. He then committed suicide in the very same manner as the donor.

The Heartbreaking Story Of Ella Harper, The ‘Camel Girl’
Ella Harper, Professionally known as the “Camel Girl” was born with a rare orthopedic condition that cased her knee to bend backward. Due to this condition, had to walked on all four legs, which resulted in her nickname as “Camel Girl”. Tough it was hard at first, but soon she made a fortune out of it.

Death Valley’s sailing stones mystery SOLVED
The mysterious "sailing stones" of Death Valley have confused experts for years. The massive stones appear to travel over the dried lake bed known as Racetrack Playa in California's Death Valley National Park, leaving a path in the cracked mud behind them.

What Is the Taos Hum? The Strange Low-Frequency Noise Heard in New Mexico
Since the early 1990s, residents of Taos, New Mexico, have reported hearing a mysterious low-frequency noise called the "Taos Hum." This strange, persistent buzzing or droning sound is only audible to a small fraction of the population and has baffled scientists and locals alike. Despite extensive investigations, the source of the Taos Hum remains unresolved, making it one of the most intriguing acoustic mysteries in the modern world.

Jimmy Carter Once Promised to Release UFO Files—Here’s Why He Didn’t
During his 1976 presidential campaign, Jimmy Carter declared a bold intention: if elected, he would make all government UFO information available to the public. A man who openly admitted to having seen a UFO himself, Carter embodied a promise of transparency on one of the most controversial subjects of the Cold War era. However, once in office, Carter found powerful obstacles and, citing "national security concerns," chose not to release the files. This article unpacks Carter’s famous guarantee, the political realities he faced, and the enduring mystery surrounding government UFO secrecy.

The Miracle Baby: Nigerian Couple in the UK Welcomes a Rare Blonde, Blue-Eyed Child
A black, Nigerian couple living in the U.K. gave birth to a white, blonde, blue-eyed baby that they call the "miracle baby."

When the Sky Rained Fish: An Unbelievable Encounter Above Alaska
A small Alaskan plane was hit by a fish falling from the sky. It had been dropped by an eagle that misjudged its grip. The plane was unharmed, but it made the news as possibly the weirdest bird strike ever.

The 1978 Lufthansa Heist: Unraveling the Mystery of America's Most Infamous Airport Robbery
During the 1978 Lufthansa heist, robbers infiltrated JFK Airport, restraining employees and holding a night guard hostage. They escaped with $5.9 million—worth over $27 million today. The crime, linked to the Lucchese crime family, remained unsolved for decades, with most suspects vanishing

Famous abandoned cities and ghost towns in the world
Learn the stories behind seven of the world's most renowned abandoned cities and villages, from the infamous Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe zone to Hashima Island.

The mystery of the Sri Lankan national handball team's disappearance
In 2004, the whole Sri Lankan national handball team disappeared. Later, the Sri Lankan government denied the existence of such a team. The location of the team is still unknown.

Jim Sullivan's Mysterious Masterpiece: 'U.F.O.'
In 1969, a musician named Jim Sullivan recorded an album titled "UFO" which featured a song about him being abducted by aliens in the desert. Years later, Jim disappeared and his car was found abandoned in middle of New Mexico desert. His body has never been found.

What Was the Beast of Gévaudan?
Between 1764 and 1767, a mysterious animal called the Beast of Gévaudan terrorized the French village called Gévaudan. It attacked and killed about 100 adults and children. While most believe it was a wolf, some say it may have been a wolf-dog hybrid, hyena or even a lion, but without any genetic evidence, the beast will remain a mystery forever.

Mystery of 300-year-old mummified mermaid is being probed
There is a 300-year-old mummified mermaid with 30 centimetres tall and features a human-like head, two hands with what appear to be fingernails, and its lower body that look like a fish tail. The “mermaid mummy” is being probed by Japanese scientists in an attempt to unravel the mystery of its existence.