Team claims record-breaking pumpkin launch in Utah

[September 11, 2010]  MOAB, Utah (AP) -- A team that shoots pumpkins from a giant air cannon says it achieved the holy grail of the sport -- chucking a pumpkin a distance of more than one mile.

The "Big 10 Inch Team" from Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey says it launched the 9.5-pound pumpkin at Moab's old airport on Friday.

The team used a 90-foot, compressed-air cannon and traveled to southern Utah hoping the high elevation and thin air would help the vegetable sail farther.

The group launched a pumpkin near Moab last year that traveled short of a mile, or 4,623 feet, but still set a Guinness World Record.

A licensed professional surveyor was to verify the distance later Friday.

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Online:

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/

[Associated Press]

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