Forklift to the rescue!Inspired by the folk tale Cinderella and Californian pumpkin regattas, a Harvard student dreamed up a novel way to raise funds for biology research – by taking a river cruise in a pumpkin.
The madcap adventure was almost derailed by the lack of a forklift to transport the 1,500 lb. (680 kg) pumpkin to the river, the Boston Globe reports.
Benjamin Chang decided to row a pumpkin across the Charles River to raise money for Harvard OpenBio, a student-led biomakerspace he co-founded with other Harvard science students.
After seeking advice from organisers of the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest and Regatta in Maine, Chang sourced a giant pumpkin from a farmer in New Hampshire.
“Once we found a pumpkin, the grower told us we needed a forklift to move it safely,” Chang told the newspaper.
“But obviously as undergrads we don’t have forklifts around. So as late as last Saturday we thought we might have to call it off. As a final attempt we posted a post on Reddit asking if anyone had a forklift they could lend us.”
Boston.com reports the Reddit post successfully connected Chang to Tim Myra, who volunteered one of his forklifts to transport the pumpkin.
Chang’s pumpkin boat plan was also assisted by friends from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who helped with physics calculations.
To build a boat out of a pumpkin, the students hollowed out a hatch on one side to make it easier to reach the water to paddle, put counterweights inside for balance and lined the insides with carpet and bubble wrap.
“We were not only able to paddle across the Charles but we had over two dozen people take part in the fun,” Chang said.
According to the Harvard University website, Chang’s pumpkin boat adventure was a financial success.
“This fundraiser raised hundreds of dollars to support student-run projects, such as creating affordable yogurt-based tuberculosis therapeutics using engineered lactic acid bacteria,” he told the university.
“We’re excited to support many more exciting projects this semester, like developing a low-cost surgical robotics system and biological dressings for chronic wounds.”