1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey Brainstuff 2 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:11,119 Speaker 1: learned Boga bom Here. A whole watermelon holds a lot 3 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: of promise. It's stiff rind contains so many slices of 4 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: juicy jewel, bright fruit, fresh flavored and sweet. But it 5 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:24,240 Speaker 1: also contains the potential to begin to split, hiss and 6 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: foam and then go bluey, spurting, putred melon guts all 7 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: over your picnic. We're not talking about exploding a watermelon 8 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: on purpose using the potential energy of stretched rubber bands 9 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:41,199 Speaker 1: squeezing around it. It's possible for watermelons to explode all 10 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: on their own or almost because of either genetic factors 11 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: or spontaneous fermentation that creates a build up of gases 12 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,240 Speaker 1: and pressure inside the rind until it bursts, often dramatically. 13 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: For the article this episode is based on How Stuff Works. 14 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 1: Spoke with Walter Reeves, a k A. The Georgia Gardener, 15 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: a retired radio until vision host, author and weekly gardening 16 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 1: columnist for our local newspaper, The Atlanta Journal Constitution. He 17 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: explained fermentation explosions happen because the watermelon is full of 18 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: sugar and a fast growing bacteria or fungus got in 19 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,160 Speaker 1: there somehow and is fermenting. Maybe it got poked by 20 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:20,320 Speaker 1: something on the trip home, or maybe it had an 21 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:25,839 Speaker 1: unnoticed blotched disease infection. Basically, some types of the microorganisms 22 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:28,959 Speaker 1: like bacteria and yeasts that live all around us in 23 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: our air can eat sugars and poops stuff like ethanol 24 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: and carbon dioxide. A reef said, a fermentation causes many 25 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: different chemicals to be produced. Some smell of alcohol, some 26 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: smell of vinegar, some are floral. Fermentation produces carbon dioxide gas, 27 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 1: which hisses as it comes out of the rind under 28 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: slight pressure. So the simple answer is that a watermelon 29 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: can ferment inside, and the pressure can cause various effects, 30 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: I think, anywhere from the phizzes like crazy sound that 31 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: a soda makes when you shake up the can before 32 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: you open it, all the way to a mini volcanic 33 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 1: explosion of what Reeves called an ouy, gooey, salimy, yucky 34 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: puddle of crapola. A watermelons thick rind usually protects against 35 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,360 Speaker 1: this fermenting microorganisms have to have a way to get in. 36 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 1: Maybe the rind was pierced or scratched or weakened with 37 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: a bacterial infection. Reeves explained a bacterial blotch disease comes 38 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: from infected seed and only affects the rind. It doesn't 39 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: spread to the interior, but if the blotch cracks, other 40 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: bacteria and fungi can go through the cracks to the 41 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: interior of the fruit and begin fermentation. If you find 42 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: an infected watermelon with only a small blotch on the rind, 43 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: the interior should be fine, but if the interior smells 44 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: bad or seems watery, don't eat it. Good advice all around. 45 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: But we also mentioned genetics as explained, exploding can be 46 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: caused by genetic factors that influence rind thickness, sugary pulp, 47 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: and small fruit size. A thin rind plus super sweet pulp, 48 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: which readily absorbs water equals boom on a hot day. 49 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,919 Speaker 1: It turns out that there's an explosive rind gene that's 50 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 1: found in many heirloom varieties. Its heritability was identified back 51 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:26,920 Speaker 1: in Basically, it causes the fruits rind to burst or 52 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: split when it's cut. How stuff works. Also spoke with 53 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: Dr Penelope Perkins, vs, a plant physiologist and professor of 54 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: horticulture at North Carolina State University. She said, so a 55 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 1: little bump will pop the rind open, and the tiger 56 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: pressure in the fruit pushes flesh far and wide. But 57 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: this raises a question. If we've known about this explosive 58 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: rind gene and can breed it out of watermelons, why 59 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: haven't we gotten rid of it? It turns out it's 60 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 1: useful after all. Okay, let's back up a step. In 61 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 1: order to grow a watermelon, the flower of a watermelon 62 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: plant has to get pollinated, and in order to grow 63 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: a desirable seedless watermelon, that plant has to get pollinated 64 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 1: with pollen from a seeded watermelon plant. So farmers have 65 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,479 Speaker 1: to have both kinds of plants flowering, But they don't 66 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:27,120 Speaker 1: want to waste resources actually growing the often less desirable 67 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 1: seeded watermelons. So if they breed their seeded plants to 68 00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 1: include that explosive rind gene, the problem kind of takes 69 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 1: care of itself. The melons from these plants either explode 70 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: on their own or are easily squished and destroyed. Farmers 71 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:47,039 Speaker 1: even breed them to be small, fruited enough, like palm sized, 72 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:49,920 Speaker 1: so that they won't explode all over the seedless fruit 73 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: and make a mess. Today's episode is based on the 74 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: article when bad Watermelons Explode on good People on how 75 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com, written by Kerrie tach Row. Brain 76 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,160 Speaker 1: Stuff is production of I heart Radio in partnership with 77 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:08,919 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot Com, and it is produced by 78 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit 79 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 80 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.