Autumn in America

Although we’re more than a month past the autumnal equinox, in many parts of the U.S., it’s only now beginning to look like fall. To celebrate cooler temps, shorter days and changing leaves, here are a few fun fall stats:

• For some people, autumn is synonymous with a flavor: pumpkin spice. That definitely seems to be the case at coffee behemoth Starbucks where the Pumpkin Spice Latte is the company’s all-time best selling seasonal beverage. Last year, Starbucks reported that since 2003, it had sold more than 200 million Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
• According to the National Confectioners Association, Midwesterners are the most trick-or-treating friendly people in the country on Halloween. Seventy-nine percent of people in the Midwest plan to pass out candy this year (the number jumps to 85 percent in the “West North Central” part of the region) compared to 76 percent in the South, 74 percent in the West and 71 percent in the Northeast.
• The fall might be a great time to be born. Some research suggests that people born in the fall are more likely than people born in other seasons to live to be 100 years old – but it’s not because the fall months are just more awesome. Suggested factors include better maternal nutrition in the fall, the lack of seasonal infections and more beneficial environmental temperatures at the time of conception and birth.

When will it look the like fall where you live or are visiting? Check out this interactive map to find out the peak leaf season of each region of the U.S.