REPUBLIC, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man has busted the state records for the heaviest and second-heaviest pumpkins.
KMBC-TV reports that the 1,798-pound and 1,677-pound giants (816 and 761 kilogram) that Richard Bottorf entered into the Republic Pumpkin Daze weigh more combined than a compact car. Bottorf carved the smaller pumpkin after it was weighed earlier this month. The larger one will be on display Wednesday at an elementary school in Harrisonville.
Bottorf has a history of breaking records. Back in 2017, he grew a 1,563-pound (709 kilogram) pumpkin that that beat the Missouri state record by more than 300 pounds (136 kilograms).
Guinness World Records says the largest-ever pumpkin weighed 2,624 pounds (1190 kilograms). It was grown in Belgium in 2016.