Like clockwork, pumpkins appear
Each year on Oct. 1 two pumpkins appear on the spires of the tower of Rounds Hall at Plymouth State University. As reported by WMUR in an Oct. 1 online story, the pumpkins have appeared again. “How the pumpkins get there remains a mystery dating back to the 1970s,” said the story, “making it one of the campus’s best-kept secrets.” In a story from Oct. 31, 2020, New Hampshire Public Radio investigated the mystery and found clues to a mysterious “Great Pumpkin Society” but was not able to track down its members or any information about it.
QOL score: 0, because who knows what those pumpkins are planning?
Comment: A call to three departments at Plymouth State revealed that not only doesn’t anyone know how the pumpkins get to the top of the spires, but nobody is really certain how tall the spires even are.
A New Hampshire Nobel winner
A scientist from New Hampshire has been awarded a Nobel Prize in Medicine. On Monday, Oct. 7, the Nobel Committee in Stockholm, Sweden, announced that Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun had been awarded the Prize for their microRNA discovery and gene regulation studies. As reported in an Oct. 7 online article by WMUR, “Ambros, a New Hampshire native who was a professor at Dartmouth Medical School from 1992-2007, performed the research that led to his prize at Harvard University. … ”
QOL score: +1
Comment: This year’s laureates will receive their awards at ceremonies in Stockholm on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
Using moose for that wet look
In a press release on Thursday, Oct. 3, the Bedford Police Department reported that the Bedford Police and Fire Departments responded Thursday morning to a report of a moose in a swimming pool. “First responders arrived to find an adult moose in a swimming pool under a pool cover, and removed the cover to help enable the moose to get out of the pool,” reported Chief of Police Daniel Douidi. “The moose then walked out of the pool on its own and left the area. No further action was taken.”
QOL score: +1
Comment: Video of the moose rescue can be found under the title IMG_9251 at Vimeo.com.
USA Today likes Manchester Airport
In an Oct. 2 press release, Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (flymanchester.com) reported that USA Today has named it one of the Top Ten small airports in the country. “MHT secured eighth place,” the press release read, “with this being the third time MHT has been awarded a place in the top 10.”
QOL score: +1
Comment: Myrtle Beach International Airport took the No. 1 spot in the USA Today survey.
QOL score: 78
Net change: +3
QOL this week: 81
Tell us what’s affecting your Quality of Life at [email protected].