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Shrinking The Watermelon
Makarand writes "Scientists who have already eliminated seeds and sweetened the watermelon
have now
miniaturized this fruit to the size of a cantaloupe. Only the outer speckled shell looks give a clue to what fruit it really is. Syngenta, a Swiss agribusinesses' North American subsidiary has brought this minimelon to the market in 30 states to satisfy
customers who favor something that is easier to store and less troublesome to prepare for consumption. No biotech or genetic engineering at work here - the company merely crossed different
breeds of watermelons to produce the minimelon."
Who cares about small watermelons when you can have square watermelons?
Thoughts on stocks, markets and trading
Seedless, five pounds, and perfectly spherical, Syngenta's patented minimelon
â" under the brand name PureHeart â"
Just to let you know, I've patented DNA.
I expect you all to send me 5 Euros or be killed.
Even the store clerks at Vons seemed taken with the little melons.
"Those are the cutest baby watermelons," one said on a pass through the produce section. "Aren't those like little babies?" said another.
The real news here is the shocking news that Vons employees like to eat babies. Compared to the image of grocery store checkout workers huddled around cute little baby-sized spheres, cracking them open and eating the sweet, sweet red insides, tiny watermellons just doesn't sound all that disturbing.
Of course, maybe you think tiny watermellons aren't supposed to be disturbing, but that's just because you're tiny fruit desensitized.
Narrative
I would have thought the American consumer would have wanted larger melons. That's the impression I get from The Man Show, anyway.
Actually, I remember a story on BBC news that some researchers had discovered that women prefer buying smaller melons because it makes them feel less nervous about their chest size.
Curiously, this psychological phenomenon doesn't seem to stop men buying foot-long hot dogs or subs.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
My roomate and I grew a watermellon in our backyard last summer. It was the size of a golfball. Then the slugs ate it--since one slug stayed out in the middle of the yard until midmorning and risked being eaten by the crows it must have been darn tasty. Stupid slugs.
So, um, take THAT!