Helen's Dave-o-rama

Charts and Graphs:
Dave's Mom's Pies

One of my favorite Late Show with David Letterman traditions occurs each Thanksgiving, when Dave fires up the satellite and chats with his Mom (Dorothy), and attempts to guess what kind of pies she has made for Thanksgiving. Here are the charts and graphs detailing the pies she has baked over the years.

Year Dorothy's Pies
1993 Orange Pumpkin Cake with Whipped Cream and Hickory Nuts
1994 Pumpkin Pie
2 Cherry Pies
1995 Pumpkin Pie
Cherry Pie
1996 Cherry Pie
Hickory Nut Pie
1997 Coconut Butterscotch Pecan Pie
Cherry Pie
1998 Rhubarb Pie
Pumpkin Pie
1999 Pumpkin Pie
Raspberry Chiffon Pie
2000 Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
2001 Pumpkin Pie
Lemon Chiffon Pie
2002 Pumpkin Pie
Raspberry Pie
2003 Pecan Pie
Apple Pie
2004 Pumpkin Pie
Chocolate Chiffon Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
2005 Pumpkin Pie
Blueberry Pie


Dave's Mom's Thanksgiving Pie Frequency Distribution

Flavor #Pies
Pumpkin 9
Cherry 5
Apple 2
Raspberry 2
Orange Pumpkin Cake with Whipped Cream and Hickory Nuts 1
Blueberry 1
Lemon Chiffon 1
Rhubarb 1
Hickory Nut 1
Pecan 1
Chocolate Chiffon 1
Coconut Butterscotch Pecan 1
Total 26

Bar Graph of Dave's Mom's Pie Frequency Distribution

Frequency Distribution Graph

Here is the distribution in the form of, what else, a Pie Chart

Pie Chart

What Is Dave's Favorite Pie?

Dave has said on the show that his favorite pie is cherry. However, in Dorothy's cookbook, she explains that as a child, Dave's favorite was chocolate chiffon pie, which he liked so well that she would bake it for his birthday instead of cake. (I love the image of young Dave blowing out birthday candles on a pie.) Dorothy still bakes Dave a pie for his birthday each year, but since she can't ship a chocolate chiffon pie, she now bakes Dave his second favorite pie, cherry. Perhaps cherry has now displaced chocolate chiffon as Dave's favorite because it's what his Mom now bakes for his birthday.