Square Watermelons?
Can You Imagine?
Who would have ever thought about the possibility of growing a square watermelon? Apparently, the Japanese! When faced with a problem of the large round fruit taking up so much space in the markets and also being harder to ship the Japanese complained to their suppliers about the large, round shape. Even consumers complained about the large fruit taking up so much space in their refrigerators. Most of the reactions that they received from suppliers were, "That's just the way they are and it is impossible for us to do anything about that" or "If you want the watermelon, you will have to have it round".
Being faced with this challenge, rather than thinking that it was impossible to change this, the Japanese set out to try to find a solution to the problem. And that, they did! The result....a square watermelon!
Simple Answer
This is not some scientific experiment but something far more simple. They discovered that in order to make a square watermelon, you simply had to sit the watermelon inside a square, tempered glass case as it grew. The fruit would then take on the shape of its surroundings!
The discovery of this cubic fruit, however does not come without a price. The normal round watermelon in Japan costs $15 to $25 each as the square watermelon costs 10,000 yen, which is equivalent to $82 each! Talk about the price of discovery!
Even with the high cost, you have to appreciate the lesson that can be learned from the Japanese in this situation. Instead of thinking that it was impossible to achieve, they set out to find a way that it could be achieved and they did it!
U.S. Not Likely To Follow Suit
Samantha Winters of the National Watermelon Promotion Board in Orlando, Florida stated that considering all of the various ways that watermelons are available in the U.S., it is doubtful that we will see the square watermelons in the supermarkets any time soon.
I don't know about any of you but I just can't wait to get mine! Just imagine what a nice gift it would make and all you would have to do is tie a ribbon around it. Heck, I think even Santa would appreciate such a unique gift as a square watermelon don't you? Would be much easier to pack into his sleigh when heading to the North Pole!
