Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe April 16 (UPI) -- An Australian man took the largest pumpkin grown in the country this year and turned it into a canoe that he paddled down the Tumut River. The nearly 900-pound pumpkin, named Tormund in honor of Game of Thrones character Tormund Giantsbane, was grown by Mark Peacock and scored a blue ribbon at the Royal Easter Show. Advertisement The pumpkin, the largest to win an award at any Australian show this year, captured the imagination of Peacock's friend, Adam Farquharson. Farquharson asked Peacock if he could have the pumpkin before it became feed for farm animals. He hollowed out the pumpkin into a boat he christened Cinderella and paddled it for a mile down the Tumut River in New South Wales while about 1,000 spectators followed along from shore. "It was a fitting send-off that the community got to experience Tormund the pumpkin one more time in a different capacity," Peacock told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Farquharson said his only real motive for the stunt was to have fun and make people smile. "It's just something really cool to do. I've paddled that river so many times, [but] that's the most fun I've ever had floating down the Tumut River," he said. Advertisement Farquharson earned the nickname Popeye the Pumpkin Man from locals. "I think the worldwide fame will wear off pretty soon. I won't end up like Taylor Swift. I'll just get back to life as normal," he said. The pumpkin will now go on to serve it's original purpose: feeding Peacock's cattle. Read More Cat rescued from between walls goes viral for 'purr-turbed' expression Firefighters rescue dog from fourth-story balcony in California N.C. man stops for gas, wins $200,000 lottery prize
