SciShow Tangents cover image

Farming

SciShow Tangents

00:00

Watermelon - The Greatest Fruit of All Time

In the 1850s, Bradford sold to seeds for commercial use and they quickly became a hit. So much of a hit in fact that the melons were a prime target for theft by both people who simply wanted to eat some really delicious watermelons and by organized melon wrestlers. To combat this, watermelon farmers turned to classic defenses like shooting the thieves. By 1880, there are even articles alleging that some watermelon farmers had electrified the melons in their field. A melon thief would touch the melon, get electrocuted and die. For several years, more people were killed stealing watermelons than any other agricultural product aside from cattle.

Transcript
Play full episode

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!
App store bannerPlay store banner
Get the app