Square Watermelons

Did you know they have square watermelons in Japan?  I didn’t until someone emailed this to me.  Check it out.

They do this to make it easier to store and ship them.  It has absolutely nothing to do with the way a watermelon will try to roll out of the refrigerator and leap at you.  What, am I the only one that has happened to?

If you’re like me about now you’re wondering how they do that.

Apparently they box the watermelon as it grows.  This is a clear, Plexiglas box with a hole for the vine and a hinged cover to let the watermelon out when it’s ready.

Of course the first thing I thought was “how do they know it’s ripe?”