ED ASKS: I had a watermelon sitting on the kitchen table when all of a sudden it split and began to squirt its juices as far as seven feet. What would cause this?
Wow. That sounds pretty bizarre, Ed. So bizarre, in fact, that if I found myself in that situation, I’m not sure if I would find it funny or if I would run screaming into the other room.
I’ve heard of watermelons splitting open and spewing juices and/or foam before. I’ve even heard of watermelons “exploding.” For some reason, whenever I read stories about watermelons doing these types of things, I get the same feeling inside that I do when I read stories about encounters with ghosts.
For an answer to your seemingly supernatural question, I turned to an expert in weird watermelon occurances, Dr. Penny Perkins-Veazie. She’s a plant physiologist and professor who’s pretty much seen it all when it comes to the strange things that fruits and vegetables do.
A breeder once described a scenario in which visitors were so enamored with these cute little watermelons that they loaded up the station wagon, only to have them explode (and I do mean explode!) all over the car.
Watermelon splitting (or exploding) can be caused by the “exploding gene,” which is found in many of the heirloom varieties, or from increased water turgor in the watermelon. Sometimes just placing the fruit on a surface, bumping it, or touching it with a knife will cause an immediate pop on the side.
Of course, the other reason watermelons can split is because of bacterial infections inside the watermelon. Like many fruits, watermelon are susceptible to certain decay organisms and wild yeast. When this happens, it can lead to a fermentation process inside the watermelon. Pressure can build inside, causing the watermelon to split and erupt like a volcano or to foam uncontrollably.
So there you have it, Ed. You’ve either got a watermelon with an “exploding gene” or a bacterial infection. I asked Dr. Penny if ghosts could somehow be responsible for your watermelon’s bizarre behavior and she stood by her previous answer. I’m not saying your watermelon was haunted, but I feel compelled to offer to that as a possible explanation.
Haha..Yuck!! 🙂
Yuck indeed, Crystal!
My watermelon looks like it is bleeding. Any ideas on that?
I came across this article because I had a close encounter with one that wanted to explode. I heard a hissing in the sink. The watermelon that was going bad, but we had yet to dispose of, was hissing. Counting down to zero, I guess. Kind of it.
(Unless it was possessed. Then, not kind. Not kind at all, and we just exorcised it to take over an innocent new watermelon.)
I brought a watermelon and left it on my kitchen floor. The temperature in my house was cool. I heard a noise and ignored it. When I went in the kitchen I saw water on the floor and noticed a foam on top of the watermelon. I put it in the sink to cut it open and slice it up and it absolutely had a bad smell. ?