The Really Great Pumpkin

Growing giant pumpkins has been a sport since 1900, but in those days it was rare to find one over 400 pounds. This year, though, the World Pumpkin Confederation’s contest was won by Joel Holland of Puyallup, Wash., with an 827-pounder. Larger pumpkins have been grown, but it’s difficult to ship them--they tend to collapse in the crate.

Jack-O’-Lantern News

What’s the best way to carve a pumpkin? Not cutting crudely--and dangerously--with a knife. Carve-O-Lantern kits provide Halloween patterns (that sly ghoul on our cover is one of them) to pin onto the pumpkin. Then you poke holes along the design and neatly carve the pattern with tiny saws and drills. Available at major supermarkets at around $4-$5.

Celebrity Food Fight

According to Vanity Fair, one sign of trouble between Woody Allen and Mia Farrow was that he yelled at her because she couldn’t name all the varieties of pasta that exist.

You Can’t Lick Bottles

Broguiere’s is one Southland dairy that continues to supply milk in the old-fashioned, easily recyclable glass bottles (68 cents a quart/$1.22 a gallon, plus a $1 deposit per bottle). It’s available at some markets, such as Mayfair, and the dairy, 505 S. Maple Ave., Montebello, (213) 726-0524.

The Big Mac Standard

The Institute of the German Economy reported in May that the Big Mac is increasingly used by economists as a measure of comparative purchasing power in various countries. For instance, you can buy five Big Macs in this country for the same money as four in Germany or 18 in Russia.

Biting Off More Than You Can Chew

Sara Lee, the pastry company, is finally out of an ill-starred fling in the seafood business--its Florida seafood connection, the Booth Group, has filed for bankruptcy. To add charges of insult to injury, the celebrity representation firm Curtis Management is suing to stop sales of a brand of underwear with James Dean’s photo on it from being marketed in Australia by Warner Bros. and Sara Lee Personal Products.

A Self-Help Diet

Just Help Yourself microwavable/ovenable diet meals look like Ralphs Markets’ response to Jenny Craig-type diet systems--except, as they like to point out, there are no fees or visits to weight consultants. You just pick up your choice of 28 meals (five of them breakfasts, the rest about evenly divided between lunches and dinners), 200 to 300 calories each, at a special freezer case; $1.99 to $3.99. The packages do spell out basic principles for calculating a desirable calorie level and suggest appropriate side dishes. And if you do want counseling, there will be registered dietitians at all Los Angeles area Ralphs this weekend from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.