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[email protected]

I got this news story via email. Is this for real?


(Photo went here)
2000 pound plastic pumpkin en-route to the championships


A report in the Manchester Guardian stated that after 35 years of trying, Herbert Entwhistle of Wigan finally won first prize and an entry in the Guinness book of records for the cultivation of Britain’s biggest pumpkin.

He’d come close to winning many times but was always beaten by his sworn enemy and rival for the title, Bill Grimethorpe who used a secret formula for his fertilizer.

He was obsessed with taking out the title so he set about manufacturing a gigantic, pumpkin shaped, plastic model with the feel and consistency of the real thing. He secured the services of an artist and a scent specialist to make it look and smell like a real vegetable.

It was secretly transported to the competition venue in a shipping container and lifted on to the display by a 3 ton crane.

It easily won the contest and it dwarfed rival pumpkins but deposed champion, Bill Grimethorpe, demanded an inquiry and a taste test.

It wasn’t until the judges became violently ill after eating some of the bogus pumpkin and were taken to hospital with suspected salmonella poisoning that any thought was given to foul play.

Herbert Entwhistle was disqualified and the first prize went to Bill Grimethorpe yet again.

The Guinness book of records publishers, were forced to recall 150,000 copies and refund double the recommended retail price to all their readers while Mr Entwhistle was jailed for 6 months for fraud and aggravated assault with a giant plastic vegetable .

12/9/2003 6:42:23 PM

Puyallup, WA

Something smells "fishey" here....

12/9/2003 6:54:32 PM

Norton, MA

Hey can you get me the original sory.

12/9/2003 7:04:42 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Sounds like somebody is jerking your Vine...

12/9/2003 7:29:57 PM

Liverpool , England

Tremor,
I live 15 miles from Wigan and work in Wigan everyday.There has not been anything in the local press about this and if there had then everybody would have been getting in touch with me to see if it was true.I think somebody is having a laugh. The names of the two men...Grimethorpe and Entwhistle are kinda local names to the area and more of a sarcasm to make the story more real.

Alun

12/9/2003 7:33:33 PM

[email protected]

I thought so too. But read the email while giving my son a bath. I'll "google-news" the thing & see if I can find the story.

12/9/2003 8:36:09 PM

[email protected]

http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s6i1340

Just look at the name of the website & I guess we have our answer. Funny article all the same though.

Steve

12/9/2003 9:51:02 PM

Brillion Wisconsin

This is exactly what happened to me this year at the weigh off. Everybody showed up with fake pumpkins that weighed more than my real pumpkin. I guess I will mix some silicon with the milk feedings. lol Dean o

12/10/2003 9:14:46 AM

Billerica,Massachusetts

like who wouldn't know it was plastic? com'on now

12/10/2003 11:57:08 AM