This non-official American holiday’s beginnings are unknown however some believe it was created by watermelon farms while others suspect it was a creation of the National Watermelons Board.
According to Holidays Calendar, “Biologists and botanists believe that the modern watermelon can be traced all the way back to a vine like plant that grew wild in southern Africa. It has been cultivated by indigenous people since at least the second Millennium BC. From that auspicious beginning, the modern watermelon then spread all the way through Asia over the next thousand years, and eventually made its way into southern Europe by the tenth century. It was then introduced to the New World via European settlers and African slaves by the sixteenth century. By the seventeenth century, it was a commonly grown staple throughout much of the southern United States.
Today, watermelons are grown in almost every state in the U.S. In fact, there are only about 6 states where watermelons aren’t grown commercially. The states which produce the most watermelons are California, Arizona, Georgia, Texas and Florida.”
- Watermelons are mostly water. About 91% of the watermelon by volume is made up of water.
- The seeds and rind of the watermelon are edible.
- Watermelon is both a fruit and a vegetable.
- Seedless watermelons are NOT genetically engineered. They are a result of hybridization.
- Oklahoma’s official State vegetable since 2007.
- Watermelon has more lycopene than raw tomatoes.
Northern News 