WEBVTT - Why Do Watermelons Explode Sometimes?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey Brainstuff

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<v Speaker 1>learned Boga bom Here. A whole watermelon holds a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of promise. It's stiff rind contains so many slices of

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<v Speaker 1>juicy jewel, bright fruit, fresh flavored and sweet. But it

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<v Speaker 1>also contains the potential to begin to split, hiss and

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<v Speaker 1>foam and then go bluey, spurting, putred melon guts all

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<v Speaker 1>over your picnic. We're not talking about exploding a watermelon

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<v Speaker 1>on purpose using the potential energy of stretched rubber bands

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<v Speaker 1>squeezing around it. It's possible for watermelons to explode all

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<v Speaker 1>on their own or almost because of either genetic factors

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<v Speaker 1>or spontaneous fermentation that creates a build up of gases

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<v Speaker 1>and pressure inside the rind until it bursts, often dramatically.

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<v Speaker 1>For the article this episode is based on How Stuff Works.

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<v Speaker 1>Spoke with Walter Reeves, a k A. The Georgia Gardener,

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<v Speaker 1>a retired radio until vision host, author and weekly gardening

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<v Speaker 1>columnist for our local newspaper, The Atlanta Journal Constitution. He

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<v Speaker 1>explained fermentation explosions happen because the watermelon is full of

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<v Speaker 1>sugar and a fast growing bacteria or fungus got in

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<v Speaker 1>there somehow and is fermenting. Maybe it got poked by

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<v Speaker 1>something on the trip home, or maybe it had an

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<v Speaker 1>unnoticed blotched disease infection. Basically, some types of the microorganisms

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<v Speaker 1>like bacteria and yeasts that live all around us in

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<v Speaker 1>our air can eat sugars and poops stuff like ethanol

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<v Speaker 1>and carbon dioxide. A reef said, a fermentation causes many

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<v Speaker 1>different chemicals to be produced. Some smell of alcohol, some

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<v Speaker 1>smell of vinegar, some are floral. Fermentation produces carbon dioxide gas,

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<v Speaker 1>which hisses as it comes out of the rind under

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<v Speaker 1>slight pressure. So the simple answer is that a watermelon

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<v Speaker 1>can ferment inside, and the pressure can cause various effects,

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<v Speaker 1>I think, anywhere from the phizzes like crazy sound that

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<v Speaker 1>a soda makes when you shake up the can before

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<v Speaker 1>you open it, all the way to a mini volcanic

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<v Speaker 1>explosion of what Reeves called an ouy, gooey, salimy, yucky

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<v Speaker 1>puddle of crapola. A watermelons thick rind usually protects against

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<v Speaker 1>this fermenting microorganisms have to have a way to get in.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe the rind was pierced or scratched or weakened with

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<v Speaker 1>a bacterial infection. Reeves explained a bacterial blotch disease comes

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<v Speaker 1>from infected seed and only affects the rind. It doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>spread to the interior, but if the blotch cracks, other

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<v Speaker 1>bacteria and fungi can go through the cracks to the

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<v Speaker 1>interior of the fruit and begin fermentation. If you find

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<v Speaker 1>an infected watermelon with only a small blotch on the rind,

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<v Speaker 1>the interior should be fine, but if the interior smells

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<v Speaker 1>bad or seems watery, don't eat it. Good advice all around.

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<v Speaker 1>But we also mentioned genetics as explained, exploding can be

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<v Speaker 1>caused by genetic factors that influence rind thickness, sugary pulp,

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<v Speaker 1>and small fruit size. A thin rind plus super sweet pulp,

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<v Speaker 1>which readily absorbs water equals boom on a hot day.

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<v Speaker 1>It turns out that there's an explosive rind gene that's

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<v Speaker 1>found in many heirloom varieties. Its heritability was identified back

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<v Speaker 1>in Basically, it causes the fruits rind to burst or

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<v Speaker 1>split when it's cut. How stuff works. Also spoke with

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<v Speaker 1>Dr Penelope Perkins, vs, a plant physiologist and professor of

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<v Speaker 1>horticulture at North Carolina State University. She said, so a

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<v Speaker 1>little bump will pop the rind open, and the tiger

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<v Speaker 1>pressure in the fruit pushes flesh far and wide. But

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<v Speaker 1>this raises a question. If we've known about this explosive

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<v Speaker 1>rind gene and can breed it out of watermelons, why

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<v Speaker 1>haven't we gotten rid of it? It turns out it's

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<v Speaker 1>useful after all. Okay, let's back up a step. In

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<v Speaker 1>order to grow a watermelon, the flower of a watermelon

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<v Speaker 1>plant has to get pollinated, and in order to grow

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<v Speaker 1>a desirable seedless watermelon, that plant has to get pollinated

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<v Speaker 1>with pollen from a seeded watermelon plant. So farmers have

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<v Speaker 1>to have both kinds of plants flowering, But they don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to waste resources actually growing the often less desirable

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<v Speaker 1>seeded watermelons. So if they breed their seeded plants to

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<v Speaker 1>include that explosive rind gene, the problem kind of takes

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<v Speaker 1>care of itself. The melons from these plants either explode

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<v Speaker 1>on their own or are easily squished and destroyed. Farmers

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<v Speaker 1>even breed them to be small, fruited enough, like palm sized,

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<v Speaker 1>so that they won't explode all over the seedless fruit

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<v Speaker 1>and make a mess. Today's episode is based on the

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<v Speaker 1>article when bad Watermelons Explode on good People on how

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<v Speaker 1>stuff works dot com, written by Kerrie tach Row. Brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is production of I heart Radio in partnership with

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot Com, and it is produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Clang. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit

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