Fall Coloring Pages

Fun Facts about Fall

• When leaves change colour in the fall, they are actually becoming their true colour. In the summer, the chlorophyll (which is how the leaves receive nourishment from the sun) takes over and causes them to turn green and hide their colour.
• Americans typically refer to this time of year as “fall,” while the British use the word “autumn.” Both terms date back to the 16th century but before that it was called “harvest. Fall was called “harvest” because of the “harvest moon” that occurs when the full moon is closest to the autumn equinox. Before man-made lighting, this moonlight was essential to a prosperous harvest.
• Scientists believe global warming could affect autumn colors. As the world warms, leaves may delay changing their colors. Additionally, trees may not use their sugars to create red pigments; rather, they might send that fuel to growing new twigs. Global warming may also alter the habitats of trees, such as the sugar maple, which creates some of the most vibrant fall colors.
• According to The Weather Channel, pumpkins are the most craved food during the fall. Although, if you’ve left the house anytime recently, this may not come as a surprise to you.
• Pumpkins are grown all over the world: six of seven continents (all except Antarctica), to be exact. Love pumpkin pie? The largest ever made was in New Bremen, Ohio—it was 20 feet in diameter and weighed 3,699 pounds! It took days to bake, but was cut into 5,000 slices when it was finished.
• Autumn begins when the center of the sun crosses Earth’s equator. As Earth continues its path around the sun, days become shorter and nights become longer, with the change most noticeable for those at higher latitudes. People who live on the equator or central area of the planet never experience autumn.
• During the gray squirrel’s fall caching season, when the critters bury nuts and seeds in hundreds of scattered caches to serve as emergency winter larders, a typical squirrel shows a 15 percent increase in the size of its hippocampus—the memory and emotion center of the brain—compared to the rest of the year.
• If you’re not a squirrel, don’t fret. Human children born in autumn (September through December) are more likely to excel in school than those born at other times of the year, according to a UK Department of Education report. Here's what else your birth month can predict about your health and life.