Don’t let the rain dampen your Halloween spirit: you’re a scholar, so you know how to make the most of anything.  And how do us scholars make the most of things? We study them dry.

• Yesterday, Market Watch released their map tracking Halloween candy buying trends across the U.S..  Whether or not this classifies as part of the “big data” movement, it’s nice to see people using data for something worthwhile. As of yet, there doesn’t appear to be the same type of info available in Canada. But no doubt children will one day be using strategies such as this to know which streets to avoid and which ones have the very best candy. Of special note in the link above: kids in Louisiana are going to have more Ring Pops than they know what to do with this year.
• Geography is one way to tackle Halloween, and economics is another. Two years ago, Mia Saini took a look at the business side of Halloween for BloombergBusinessweek. The report, “Trick of Treat: The Economics of Halloween,” puts some interesting price tags on the most candied of holidays.
• Ever say to yourself while reading an article for a literature review for one of your major projects, “Jeeeze, I wish I was reading some scholarly work about Halloween right now?” Praise Google Books, then, for giving you access to (most of) Jack Santino’s edited collection of essays entitled Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life.  The chapter on “Bonfire Nights in Brigus, Newfoundland” is a particularly interesting read.
• Bonus: Don’t ask me how I found this or what my score was, but the geographically inclined among you might enjoy JetPunk’s Countries of the World Quiz. The rules are you get 12 minutes to name as many countries as possible, and every country you name gets put on the map of the world to help you keep track. Correct, this has nothing to do with Halloween, but geography waits for no one.

Happy (Halloween) Friday!