| First, though, let's take a quick look at the Koko Bomb. Aaron built it from a domed plastic wastebasket, which he filled with foam to cushion the pumpkin's fall. To make sure the Bomb landed foam side down, he added a parachute of a type he had successfully used with model rockets. The whole apparatus, including pumpkin payload, weighed in at 18 pounds 6 ounces (8.35 kilograms).
The pumpkin itself was an ordinary pumpkin-patch gourd, medium orange, 32.5 inches (82.5 centimeters) in diameter, 9 pounds 4 ounces (4.2 kg), with a short stem and no other distinguishing marks.
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