When mastodons and other large herbivores roamed the Earth, they spread pumpkin seeds across the Americas in their feces. The bitter wild fruits thrived in the trampled soil. Then, around 10,000 years ago, the big mammals went extinct. Pumpkins might have died out, too, if humans hadn't domesticated them, eventually breeding the sweet varieties we eat today.

When mastodons and other large herbivores roamed the Earth, they spread pumpkin seeds across the Americas in their feces. The bitter wild fruits thrived in the trampled soil. Then, around 10,000 years ago, the big mammals went extinct. Pumpkins might have died out, too, if humans hadn't domesticated them, eventually breeding the sweet varieties we eat today.