Watermelon Facts

Watermelon Facts and Trivia

• Watermelons are around 92% water (hence their name)
• Ancient travelers used them as an easily transportable container of water
• Watermelon's official name is Citrullus lanatus. It belongs to the botanical family Curcurbitacae and is related to cucumbers, pumpkins and squash
• We have archaelogical proofs that the first watermelon harvest occurred nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt

Cubic watermelons in Japan
• Although we commonly refer to them as fruits, they are really a vegetable
• In Japan, it's common for supermarkets to offer cube-shaped watermelons: they are grown in special cubic containers and their price is usually at least twice that of a normal watermelon
• There are over 1,200 varieties of watermelons, including some with yellow flesh, and others with blood-like stains in the outer rind
• The word "watermelon" first appeared in the English dictionary in 1615
• The 1998 Guinness Book of Records reports that the largest watermelon was grown in 1990 by Bill Carson, of Arrington, Tennessee, and weighed 262 pounds
• According to history sources, a watermelon was thrown at Roman Governor Demosthenes during a political debate: he placed the watermelon upon his head, thanking the thrower for providing him with a helmet to wear as he fought Philip of Macedonia
• The first cookbook published in the United States in 1796 contained a recipe for watermelon rind pickles
• In China and Japan, watermelons are a common gift to offer your host
• Watermelons are often eaten with feta cheese in Israel and Egypt
• Every part of a watermelon is edible, even the seeds and rinds: seeds are a common snack food in China (and they're often roasted) while rind is used to make jams