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Pumpkin hurling has election-season flavor
Jessica Norman photo
Mitchell Community College physics instructor Doug Knight and his students load the trebuchet Friday during the Great Heads of Statesville Exit Poll.
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Published: October 25, 2008
It's going to be close, but John McCain and Sarah Palin are going to win the presidential election next month.
That was the key finding of the second quadrennial Great Heads of Statesville Exit Poll, which relies on colorfully adorned pumpkins being launched by a a floating-arm trebuchet.
The concept combined the lighter side of politics with some talented middle school art students and some really smart college kids, who get a thrill of seeing how far they can fling things through the air.
Specifically, caricatures of the candidates were painted on pumpkins by seventh- and eighth-grade students of Ashley Bell's American Renaissance School art classes.
The pumpkins were then placed into the harness of a trebuchet — a modern variation of the ancient sling that was used as a weapon — which was designed by Mitchell College students under the guidance of physics instructor Doug Knight.
The results, according to project founder Joel Leonard, are indisputable.
"This is rocket science," Leonard said with a kind of implied wink. "There is no margin of error in this poll."
If that's true, the Republicans will eke out a less-than-1-percent victory for the White House.
And, in contrast to the results of other polls, McCain's running mate is far from a drag on the ticket.
Indeed, the the Palin-faced pumpkin actually proved to have the least drag of any of the gourds launched in the mist and drizzle. It traveled a total of 91 yards. But because it hit about six yards off the center line — actually to the left — she netted 85 yards.
The Barack Obama pumpkin did the worst in this contest, netting only 79 yards. That total, too, included a left-of-center deduction of seven yards.
When added with the soaring distance of the Joe Biden gourd — 83 yards — the Democrats' total of 162 yards was four fewer than the Republicans.
Interestingly, only the McCain pumpkin hit the ground on the right side of the center line.
Knight explained the rules of the poll early on. He said that the distance was only part of the equation and that accuracy was just as important.
"We don't want any hanging chads when this is done," he said.
In two other races, the Great Heads poll found, that by a margin of 85 yards to 79 yards, state Sen. Kay Hagan will thwart U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's bid for re-election.
But a run-off election will have to be held in the governor's race. Pumpkins representing Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory and Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue ended in a tie at 86 yards each.
That run-off, as well as pumpkins in the other races, will be launched as part of the festivities scheduled for next Saturday's Pumpkin Fest in Statesville.
Bell, the charter school teacher, said the project was helpful in teaching the children about the art of drawing caricatures and something about politics.
"They learned a little about the candidates and what red states and blue states are," she said. "It was a fun way to learn about the elections that are going on."
And who might win them.
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