DAILY DIRT: What’s the deal with gourds? And those Christmas carols are right around the corner

Daily Dirt for Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022

How about you? Can you say Giannis Antetokounmpo’s last name?  … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 436 of The Daily Dirt.

1. There are a number of things that are always discouraging about this time of the year. See if you agree:

• 1. Leaving work when it’s already dark: You know it’s coming. It won’t be long until the sun sets at like 2:30 in the afternoon.
• 2. Every leaf in the free world has taken up residence in your front yard. 
• 3. Why doesn’t anyone ever refer to this time of the year as “autumn.” I have never heard anyone at any point in my life refer to this time of the year as autumn. That’s because it’s “fall,” people. Fall.
• 4. Pumpkin-scented candles that your wife may place in the living room … bedroom … kitchen … bathroom …
• 5. Greetings from friends are no longer “hello,” but rather “did you get your flu shot yet?”
• 6. Despite lower temperatures, especially in the cooler evenings, your wife insists the air conditioning is still needed.
• 7. It’s the only time of the year you see gourds, which I think are like second cousins to pumpkins.
• 8. Truth be known, autumn (sorry, fall …) only lasts for about a week. We go from late summer to early winter in the drop of a stocking cap.
• 9. Everyone around you is coughing. 
• 10. On Nov. 1, we start hearing Christmas carols.

2. I was watching a Milwaukee Bucks game the other night, marveling at the play of Giannis Antetokounmpo — and his last name, which for the record, I cannot come close to pronouncing.

Naturally, my mind started wandering about other tough-to-say names of pro athletes. Here’s a few more that are even more difficult than Antetokounmpo when it comes to tongue twisters:

Gold medal: Babatunde Oluwasegun Temitope Oluwakorede Adisa “Baba” Oshinowo, Jr.:  He had a brief run in the NFL a few years ago, including stops with the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears.

Silver medal: Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon: For the record, she’s a weightlifter from Thailand.

Brtonze medal: Touraj “Jeje” Houshmandzadeh, Jr.: A former wide receiver in the NFL who caught 44 touchdown passes with the Cincinnati Bengals.

3. Trick or treating is expected to be back in full force this year for the first time since 2019, so what candies will the kiddos be bringing home Monday night?

The website RetailMeNot.com says the following will likely be this year’s most popular Halloween candy.

• Reese’s cups, 22 percent.
• Kit Kat, 15 percent.
• Snickers,14 percent.
• Hershey’s bars, 12 percent.
• M&M’s, 10 percent.
• Candy corn, 8 percent.
• Skittles, 5 percent.
• Starburst, 5 percent.
• Twizzlers, 4 percent.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — The only one of those candies I would question is candy corn. I have never met anyone in my 68 years that likes those little things, so why would anyone give them out?