IDIOTS: Oklahoma Declares Watermelon State Vegetable

[sarahmichelef]

Oklahoma already has the strawberry as its official fruit, so the state Senate cleared the way Tuesday to declare the watermelon the state vegetable.

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Comments

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Wait a minute. VEGETABLE??????

[alphasarah.livejournal.com]

My home state is SMRT.

[fitzw.livejournal.com]

This isn't the first time someone has thought that the watermelon was a vegetable...

http://www.slashfood.com/2006/06/28/watermelon-is-a-vegetable-says-associated-press/

Replying to my own post...

[fitzw.livejournal.com]

And then there's this article:

http://www.watermelon.org/pdfs/media/presskit2006/WatermelonFacts.pdf

According to that, the watermelon can be considered either a fruit or a vegetable.

Re: Replying to my own post...

[cranky-dragon.livejournal.com]

But... but... according to that definition, *all* fruits could also be considered vegetables.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

All I can do is quote EB White's famous caption for a cartoon of a little girl scowling at the vegetable on her plate:

"It's broccoli, dear."

"I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it."

[amuntari.livejournal.com]

I. Love. That. Cartoon.

My mum gave it to me when I was younger, after one particularly knock-down-drag-out fight over brussel sprouts and the eating thereof.

[brewergnome.livejournal.com]

strawbewhat? watermelowho?

But... they... that's... raaaaar!

I mean apples, biologically speaking, are wierd, but strawberries and watermelons?

Actually... aren't watermelons botanically berries like tomatoes and such? Can't remember where the outer rind comes from... wait they're cucumbers so they have to be berries... well false berries... epigi... epygi... false berries.

And strawberries... strawberries are aggregate fruits. Technically neither fruit NOR vegetable.

[greyhame.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but watermelons are definitely not cucumbers.

[brewergnome.livejournal.com]

But they are. They're actually gourds, but so are cucumbers. The family cucurbitaceae. Also the luffa!

[greyhame.livejournal.com]

No, no, no. See, cucumbers are long and thin, with thin, edible skin and pale flesh, and medium-sized edible white seeds, while watermelons are big and round, with thick, inedible rind and red flesh, and large, inedible black seeds. See? Clearly different! :-P

[brewergnome.livejournal.com]

I see... how silly of me. And here I was about to point out that watermelons aren't, technically, melons...

What WAS I thinking?

[greyhame.livejournal.com]

Your science is no match for my obstinacy.

[brewergnome.livejournal.com]

It works better if you just keep repeating things the way you want them to be. Eventually it becomes incontrovertible fact, no matter how much piddling "evidence" I can possibly mount against you!

I hear it works wonders.

[greyhame.livejournal.com]

Look, all I'm saying is that watermelons are not the same as cucumbers. This should not be a controversial statement. Related? sure. Both gourds? sure. The same thing? clearly not!

[brewergnome.livejournal.com]

::chuckles:: True enough. Not the same thing.