I don't usually get my random facts from the Stephen Colbert show, but I was intrigued by some images he showed of the pumpkin riots of 1923. They took place in Sioux Falls South Dakota. (I think it's pretty safe to say that if your town is rioting about pumpkins, you need a real estate agent.
The region had experienced drought & a lot of grasshoppers. The town was tense because of a rumored pumpkin shortage. Rumor has it that a boy named Patrick Stewart then stole a pumpkin to take home to his mother who had tuberculosis & ran away with a pumpkin. The locals just assumed he was running due to a pumpkin shortage & mayhem ensued. The mob started fires which engulfed both the meatpacking plant & stockyards. There was looting. The riot lasted for four days. Five people died & 28 were injured. Stephen Colbert said it so it must be true :P
2 comments:
You do realize this isn't real, right? I am a Sioux Falls citizen, born and raised, and I guarantee that did not happen.
The website Colbert sourced was created on 11-oct-07, and is poorly developed, poorly written, and other information on Sioux Falls is clearly glossed over while emphasis is placed upon very insignificant things.
Try googling "pumpkin riots of 1924" and you'll find that the ONLY thing that comes up is that joke of a site.
Fake or not, that riot story was a RIOT!
Nyuk nyuk.
Post a Comment