Pumpkin-Palooza Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dragon

Clue A tells us that Aunt Dinah did not make the eight-pointed star.
Clue E tells us that she did not make the rabbit, either.
Nor did she carve the owl, according to clue I.
That leaves, therefore, the dragon.

The Dragon Cave website is a place to collect virtual dragon eggs and hatch them into adoptable dragons. The game-makers released Pumpkin Dragons for Halloween 2009. The adult Pumpkin Dragons live in hollowed out pumpkins, and often players would put hollowed out pumpkins in their gardens in hopes of attracting them. They remained quite a rarity in the game long past their original release.

Answer: Iron Kettle Farms

Not at Puddle Run; clue C tells us that the dragon-carver and the shopper at Puddle Run were two different people.
Not at Cornucopia Unlimited; clue F also indicates that the dragon-carver and the shopper at Puddle Run were two different people.
Not at Sunny Vale; clue E states so quite clearly.
That leaves Iron Kettle Farms.

Every October at the real Iron Kettle Farm on Route 96 in Candor, Tioga County, New York, is the famous Spooktacular Pumpkin Display. Pumpkins are dressed up as childrens' favorite characters from animated cartoons, comic books, video games, and nursery rhymes. There is also a challenging corn maze!

Answer: an owl

We know from question 2 that the dragon jack-o'-lantern was purchased at Iron Kettle Farms.
Clue B states explicitly that the star-carved pumpkin was NOT bought at Sunny Vale.
Clue E eliminates the rabbit as a possibility for pumpkin bought at Sunny Vale.
That leaves only the owl.

The practice of carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns comes from the Irish myth of "stingy Jack" who managed to use his stinginess to trick the Devil into not taking his soul upon his death. But he couldn't go to Heaven because didn't want such a trickster to cross the Pearly Gates. So he was stuck wandering the Earth forever, with a lantern made from a carved out turnip. Somehow over the years, the turnip became a pumpkin, especially in the USA where the pumpkin is native.

Answer: star

We just deduced in question 3 that the owl pumpkin was purchased at Sunny Vale.
Aunt Allison did not shop at Sunny Vale (clue G), so she didn't carve the owl.
We also know that Aunt Dinah, not Allison, carved the dragon.
Aunt Allison didn't carve the rabbit face, either (clue H).
So that leaves the star.

Pumpkins can be grown on every continent of the Earth except for chilly Antarctica.

Answer: rabbit

We've determined already that Aunt Dinah carved the dragon (see question 1),
and that Aunt Allison carved the star (see question 4).
Clue I tells us plainly that Aunt Betty didn't carve the owl.
Therefore, Aunt Betty carved the Rabbit.

You may feed your rabbit pumpkin, but not too much lest your bunny suffer from diarrhea! Rabbits really can't handle sugary and starchy foods, like pumpkin and other winter squash, which tend to ferment in the stomach.

Answer: owl

Dinah carved the dragon (question 1).
Allison carved the star (question 5)
Betty carved the rabbit (quesiton 4).
So Caroline carved the wise old Owl. She chose the great horned owl because of its stern and formidable appearance.

Aunt Caroline decided to follow the advice of Martha Stewart and create a spectacular owl pumpkin with two munchkins (mini-pumpkins) for eyes. She used a wood gouge to cut semi-circles into the rind to make feathers.

Answer: Sunny Vale

We've just discovered that Aunt Caroline carved the owl (question 6).
We've also learned that the pumpkin purchased at Sunny Vale was made into the owl (question 3).
Therefore Caroline got her pumpkin from Sunny Vale.

The University of Illinois reports that 90 percent of pumpkin grown in the USA is in fact grown within 90 miles of Peoria, Illinois. Nearby Morton, Illinois claims to be the Pumpkin Capital of the World.

Answer: Cornucopia Unlimited

We can eliminate Iron Kettle Farms, because Aunt Dinah bought hers there. (See question 2.)
We can eliminate Sunny Vale, because that is where the owl pumpkin was purchased (question 3), while Betty carved the rabbit (question 5).
Clue D informs us that Aunt Betty did not shop at Puddle Run, either.
Therefore, Aunt Betty bought her pumpkin at Cornucopia Unlimited.

Pumpkins pack a powerful nutritional punch, as they are chock full of vitamins A & B; the minerals potassium, calcium, zinc, iron, and magnesium; the antioxidants lutein, alpha-carotene, and beta-carotene; and soluble fiber.

Answer: Puddle Run

Betty bought her pumpkin at Cornucopia Unlimited (question 8), while
Caroline carried her choice from Sunny Vale (question 7), and
Dinah deigned to dally at Iron Kettle Farms.
That leaves Puddle Run for Allison's purchase!

Pumpkins aren't only good for eating! Pre-Columbian Native Americans would flatten and dry strips of pumpkin for use in weaving mats.

Answer: No

I will share you a logic-puzzle-making secret. Sometimes, you throw in extra information to round out a narrative or add color and interest, and it's mainly to have an excuse to differentiate individuals. For example, it didn't matter in clue F whether the Cornucopia Unlimited-shopper or dragon-carver ate pumpkin seeds or anchovies, just that they were two separate persons. That's the info you needed to solve the puzzle!

Pumpkin seeds, by the way, are among the world's healthiest foods. Native Americans ate them long before the Europeans discovered them. So don't throw them away after carving your pumpkin, but toast them into a healthy Halloween snack!