Here’s a little something light for your Friday afternoon: The crack statisticians at the Census Bureau have pulled together some figures estimating what Halloween might bring next Friday night, such as:
•36 million potential trick-or-treaters. That’s how many kids between the ages of 5 and 13 are estimated to be in this country, but it doesn’t take into account immature adults — like this reporter — who might try to score some candy anyway. And those trick-or-treaters will visit…
•110 million occupied households in the United States. All of which had better be stocked with something good, unless they like cleaning up eggs and toilet paper.
•Almost 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins for jack-o’-lanterns and pie. And where should you go to find the perfect pumpkin to carve? Illinois, which grew 542 million pounds of pumpkin in 2007.
•24.5 pounds of candy. That’s how much the average American eats each year, but many trick-or-treaters will easily top that.
•And North Carolina seems to be the ideal state to celebrate Halloween. The Census Bureau points out that the Tarheel State is the home of Transylvania County, a city called Pumpkin Center, and not one, but two Cape Fears.
Sadly, the Census Bureau doesn’t estimate how many hapless trick-or-treaters might get the Charlie Brown treatment: rocks.
Â
