Behold the 'pumpkinstein' -- a pumpkin with the face of Frankenstein's monster
Tony Dighera's pumpkins have faces -- faces that look a lot like Boris Karloff. The California farmer's creations are called "pumpkinsteins." And his obsession with making them nearly rivalled mad scientist Victor Frankenstein's. He spent four years and almost $400,000 perfecting his invention....
Tony Dighera's pumpkins have faces -- faces that look a lot like Boris Karloff. The California farmer's creations are called "pumpkinsteins." And his obsession with making them nearly rivalled mad scientist Victor Frankenstein's. He spent four years and almost $400,000 perfecting his invention.
"It's got kind of a smile on its face so kids aren't scared away from it," he tells guest host Helen Mann.
Dighera explains that the idea took root when he discovered square watermelons from Japan. He played around with that fruit, making some that were heart-shaped. Then he figured out how to stamp logos into them.
"That led me to the pumpkins," he said.
(Photo: AP/Los Angeles Daily News/Michael Owen Baker)
People buy watermelons to eat, he explains, not for decoration. He figured they'd be more willing to shell out for a novelty pumpkin. But it wasn't easy to get the monster's face moulded onto the pumpkin.
"Believe me, I've got more failures than you can imagine," he says. "It's really tough."
And when it comes to "pumpkinsteins," size matters.
"If it's too small, it just won't fill the mold. But if it's too big, it's got big problems as well," he says. "And then, there's still variations. Different ground, different fertilizer, different water, different heat. It all goes into it."
The "pumpkinsteins" wholesale for $75 U.S. and retail for $99 U.S. And Dighera says he's sold out.
(Photo: AP/Los Angeles Daily News/Michael Owen Baker)
He says he's not worried about competition. Or about the estate of Boris Karloff staking a claim on the image.
"We changed it up enough. It doesn't have bolts. It doesn't have a scar on it's forehead, so I think we're good," he says.