50 Fun Facts About October

October takes its name from the Latin word for which number?

The early Roman calendar began in March, so October really was the eighth month until January and February were inserted at the front.

How many days does October have?

It was one of the four 31-day months even in the ten-month calendar attributed to Romulus, alongside March, May and Quintilis (later July).

Which two gemstones are the birthstones for October?

The second of the pair can be green at one end and pink at the other, a variety sold as 'watermelon' stone.

Which country produces around 95 percent of the world's precious opal, its national gemstone?

The largest gem opal ever found, the 3.4-kilogram Olympic Australis, came out of the ground at Coober Pedy in 1956.

October's birth flower, the calendula, is better known by what common name?

Its Latin name comes from calendae, the first day of the month, because it seems to be in bloom at the start of every one; cooks once used the petals as 'poor man's saffron'.

Which two zodiac signs fall in October?

The first of the two is the only sign in the zodiac represented by an object, a set of scales, rather than an animal or a person.

In the Southern Hemisphere, October is the seasonal equivalent of which Northern Hemisphere month?

So while New Englanders are raking leaves, Australians and South Africans are in the middle of spring.

The full moon after the harvest moon, usually in October, is named after whom?

The harvest moon is defined as the full moon nearest the autumn equinox, so about once every three years it slips into early October and this one is pushed into November.

Halloween on 31 October is the eve of which Christian feast day?

'Hallow' is an old word for a saint, and the 'een' is Scots for evening, which is where the whole name comes from.

Before pumpkins, which vegetable was traditionally carved into Halloween lanterns in Ireland and Scotland?

Immigrants switched to pumpkins because they were bigger and far easier to hollow out.

Which ancient Gaelic harvest festival is usually cited as the pagan root of Halloween?

Trick-or-treating is more likely descended from medieval 'souling', when the poor went door to door offering prayers for the dead in exchange for soul cakes.

Botanically speaking, a pumpkin is which of these?

The technical term is a pepo, a berry with a hard rind; the whole thing is about 92 percent water.

Which US state grows about 41 percent of the country's pumpkins?

Most of it is processing pumpkin for canning, and Morton, Illinois, home of a large Libby's plant, calls itself the Pumpkin Capital of the World.

The heaviest pumpkin on record, weighed in October 2023, tipped the scales at roughly how much?

That is 2,749 pounds, heavier than a small car, grown by a Minnesota horticulture teacher.

Despite its name, most of Oktoberfest actually takes place in which month?

It runs from mid-September to the first Sunday in October so that revellers get better weather, and only beer brewed inside Munich's city limits may be served.

Oktoberfest began in 1810 as the public celebration of what event?

Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese, and the meadow where Munich still holds the festival is named the Theresienwiese, Therese's Meadow, after her.

Canada celebrates its Thanksgiving on which day in October?

Parliament fixed the date in 1957; before that it wandered around the calendar and was sometimes held in November.

On which date in 1492 did Columbus's expedition make landfall in the Americas?

In Spain the same date is the national holiday, Día de la Hispanidad, and a growing number of US states now mark it as Indigenous Peoples' Day instead.

Which president signed the 1968 law that moved the federal Columbus Day holiday to a Monday?

The Uniform Monday Holiday Act also shifted Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day and Veterans Day to Mondays to create long weekends.

Germany's national holiday, the Day of German Unity, falls on which October date?

The fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November was considered but rejected because that date is also the anniversary of the 1938 Nazi pogroms.

Which health campaign, symbolised by a pink ribbon, runs every October?

The campaign began in 1985 as a partnership between the American Cancer Society and a pharmaceutical company; the ribbon came later, popularised by Estée Lauder in the early 1990s.

United Nations Day on 24 October marks the anniversary of what 1945 event?

The date was chosen by the General Assembly in 1947, and in 1971 the UN recommended that member states make it a public holiday, though very few do.

World Teachers' Day commemorates a 1966 recommendation on teachers' status issued by UNESCO with which body?

Australia moves its celebration to the last Friday of October because 5 October usually lands in school holidays there.

World Mental Health Day, first held in 1992, falls on which day of October?

The same date is Double Ten Day, Taiwan's national day, marking the 1911 Wuchang Uprising that brought down the Qing dynasty.

Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is most widely associated with which goddess of prosperity?

Homes are lit with small oil lamps called diyas, and Jains, Sikhs and Newar Buddhists mark the same days for reasons of their own.

Why are the Nobel Prizes handed over on 10 December?

Five of the prizes are presented in Stockholm; the Peace Prize is given in Oslo, as Nobel's 1895 will instructed.

Which animal was long blamed, unfairly, for starting the 1871 Great Chicago Fire?

The city council formally exonerated Mrs O'Leary in 1997; on the same night the far deadlier Peshtigo fire in Wisconsin killed well over a thousand people.

Roughly how big was Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, launched in October 1957?

It weighed 83.6 kilograms, beeped for 22 days until its batteries died, and burned up in January 1958 after 1,440 orbits.

The Cuban Missile Crisis pitted John F. Kennedy against which Soviet leader?

The public deal removed Soviet missiles from Cuba; the secret half removed American Jupiter missiles from Turkey, and a direct hotline between Moscow and Washington followed.

What did Kennedy call the October 1962 naval cordon around Cuba, avoiding the word 'blockade'?

The missiles had been spotted on 14 October by a U-2 spy plane, whose photographs showed what analysts identified as medium-range ballistic missiles.

Black Tuesday, the worst day of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, fell on which date?

Some 16 million shares changed hands and about 14 billion dollars of value vanished, five days after the panic of Black Thursday.

By roughly what percentage did the Dow fall on Black Monday, 19 October 1987, still its worst day ever?

That was 508 points at the time; worldwide losses were put at around 1.7 trillion dollars.

Russia's 'October Revolution' of 1917 is dated 7 November in most of the world. Why?

The blank shot from the cruiser Aurora and the storming of the Winter Palace happened on 25 October Old Style, and the seizure of Petrograd itself was almost bloodless.

Which battle of 14 October 1066 killed King Harold Godwinson and began the Norman Conquest?

The Bayeux Tapestry shows a figure with an arrow in his eye near Harold's name, but the sources disagree on how he actually died; William was crowned on Christmas Day.

"England expects that every man will do his duty" was the signal before which battle of 21 October 1805?

Nelson was shot by a French marksman during the fighting and died about three hours later, having been told the victory was won.

Which engineer, later famous for a Paris tower, designed the Statue of Liberty's internal iron frame?

The copper skin was a shiny reddish-brown when it went up and took about twenty years to turn green.

Which enormous resort opened its gates near Orlando, Florida, on 1 October 1971?

The Magic Kingdom was the only park on opening day; the property covers about 25,000 acres, more land than the island of Manhattan.

Which car, built over 15 million times, first left the factory on 1 October 1908?

The 'any colour so long as it is black' rule only started in 1914; the first ones came in grey, green, blue and red.

The Great Storm of 15-16 October 1987 felled an estimated 15 million trees in which two countries?

BBC forecaster Michael Fish is still teased for reassuring a viewer that there was no hurricane on the way; he insists he was talking about Florida.

The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake struck the Bay Area during which sporting event?

Game 3 between the Giants and the Athletics was about to start at Candlestick Park; the game had emptied the freeways, which is thought to have kept the death toll to 63.

Baseball's championship series is traditionally played in October, which gives it what nickname?

It has been a best-of-seven affair since the early days; the first was played in 1903, and the Yankees have won it 27 times.

Which slugger earned the nickname 'Mr. October', hitting three home runs on three swings in the 1977 clincher?

Each of the three came on the first pitch from a different Dodgers pitcher, and with his Game 5 homer that made four straight swings, four home runs.

Which band's 1981 album 'October' had lyrics improvised after the singer's briefcase of drafts was stolen?

The briefcase, lost backstage in Portland, Oregon, turned up 23 years later, in October 2004.

The title of the 1999 film October Sky is an anagram of what?

That was the name of Homer Hickam's memoir; the studio reportedly changed it because research suggested women over thirty would not go to a film called Rocket Boys.

The yellows and oranges of October leaves come from carotenoid pigments. What happens to reveal them?

The reds are different: anthocyanins are manufactured fresh at the end of summer, and bright days with cold nights make the most of them.

The Anglo-Saxons called October 'Winterfylleth'. What did the name refer to?

In ancient Rome the month held the October Horse sacrifice on the 15th and the Armilustrium on the 19th.

In Catholic tradition, October is the month of what?

Secular observances the same month include World Blindness Awareness Month and National Pizza Month in the US.

What is a 'sports equinox', which usually happens only in late October?

The NBA and NHL are starting, the NFL is mid-season and MLB is in its postseason for just two or three weeks a year.

Which chemistry-themed observance falls on October 23?

The date echoes Avogadro's number, 6.02 × 10²³; it shares the day with Hungary's National Day.

Which of these countries celebrates its Independence Day on October 1?

Cyprus, Palau and Tuvalu share the date, which is also China's National Day and International Coffee Day.