Each year on August 3rd we celebrate National Watermelon Day! It is no coincidence that National Watermelon Day is celebrated in the hottest month of the year. Watermelon is a delicious and refreshing summer fruit that is very popular in the summer at picnics, barbeques, and cookouts. Because watermelons are 92% water, they make the perfect snack for the warm weather.
National Watermelon Day Fun Facts
Watermelons aren’t just any old boring fruit. They are quite the opposite. Did you know that there are over 300 different varieties of watermelon in the United States and Mexico? No wonder we celebrate Watermelon Day! They come in different colors too. The most common color is red, but there are also pink, white, and yellow colored watermelons available as well. They are usually large fruits that can serve many people. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the heaviest watermelon was 350.5 pounds and was grown in Tennessee in 2013.
Watermelon has been around a long time. It was first recorded nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt. The official name for a watermelon is Citrullus Lanatus of the botanical family Curcurbitaceae. That is quite a mouthful. I think we will stick with the common name of watermelon! The watermelon is also cousin to cucumbers, pumpkins, and squash. They are similar in how they look and grow but much different in taste!
How to Pick Out the Best One
There is usually a wide selection of watermelons at the store all summer long. There are so many different shapes and color variations, you might wonder how to pick out the sweetest and juiciest watermelon to celebrate National Watermelon Day. It is actually pretty simple to find a good melon.
- First, look the watermelon over. Feel the outside of the watermelon. You want to have a firm and symmetrical fruit that doesn’t have any bruises, soft spots, cuts, or dents.
- Lift it up. The watermelon should be heavy for its size. Because watermelon is 92% water, most of the weight is water.
- Turn it over. The underside of the watermelon should have a creamy yellow spot from where it sat on the ground and ripened in the sun.
How to Celebrate
You might think the only way to celebrate Watermelon Day is to eat watermelon. Well that is a great way to celebrate, but it certainly isn’t the only way. Definitely you want to enjoy watermelon on Watermelon Day, but the options are endless! Slice it up and eat it plain, cook it on the grill, mix it into a salsa, or blend it into a cocktail. There are so many ways to enjoy watermelon. Search the internet for watermelon recipes. I guarantee you’ll be surprised at the options!
You can host a watermelon day at your school or home. Watermelon is a popular fruit with kids everywhere. Not only does it great taste and sweet, it is packed with vitamins such as Vitamin A, B6, and C. By celebrating National Watermelon Day, you are also promoting healthy eating to kids. The children can learn about nutrition and enjoy a healthy snack. You can also have fun activities with watermelons, such as a carving contest!
Cleaning up
While watermelon is a great fruit to be enjoyed outside in the hot sun, sometimes it is just too hot out there so you need to move the party indoors. Every once in a while, that slice of watermelon falls right off the plate and lands on your white carpet. Or perhaps you spilled that watermelon margarita and are now left with a sticky pink mess. Do you have home cleaners come to your home periodically to tidy up? It might be wise to schedule those home cleaners following National Watermelon Day! Even if you don’t have home cleaners, you can remove that watermelon stain from your carpet on your own if you move quickly.
Take a paper towel or a rag and blot up as much of the watermelon stain as you can. Create a cleaning mixture of one teaspoon of dishwasher crystals to one cup of water. Dip a clean cloth in the mixture and continue to blot the stain. Ensure the detergent gets all the way into the fibers of the carpet. Rinse out the detergent by using warm water and a clean cloth. Repeat until the stain is completely removed.