Judge — September 26, 1903 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Origin of Pumpkin Pie" - Judge Magazine This page presents a humorous folk tale explaining pumpkin pie's invention. A poor inventor, seeking to extract gold from pumpkins (believing they contained particles of precious metal), boils one down. His skeptical wife, tired of his failed schemes, uses the resulting mush to make dried-apple pie instead. The satire targets two things: first, the gullibility of inventors pursuing absurd schemes; second, the irony that failure produces something genuinely valuable—pumpkin pie becomes beloved by his creditors, who cease their complaints once fed. The accompanying illustrations and verse ("Judge's Favorites") mock the pretensions of inventors while celebrating practical domestic resourcefulness. The joke ultimately celebrates pumpkin pie's worth despite (or because of) its humble, accidental origins.