ahhh, nothing quite like politically charged and certifiably insane melons…. maybe square melons are evil yet!

... in fact, there’s a product already out there on the market but its not quite there yet.

http://www.bevmo.com/productlist.asp?Ntt=in+bottle&Ntk=All&D=in+bottle&Nty=1

In this case a pear branch with blossom was put inside a bottle was it was still on the tree and the pear grew inside the bottle! ... I don’t see why we couldn’t grow a watermelon inside an Absolut bottle!

Hmmmm, I might just try!

Now the real question is- if they made a watermelon in the shape of an Absolut bottle, would you buy it?

Incidentally, I think this watermelon would be perfect for filling with vodka. Make me an old-fashioned.

The transportation savings are simple to calculate. Let’s consider two situations. A square watermelon, 1 unit square (1ft x 1ft x 1ft, or 30cm x 30cm x 30cm, any size, but of a similar unit) and a spherical watermelon, 1 unit in diameter. (Assuming a normal watermelon to be spherical shouldn’t be too far of a stretch.) Now, let’s assume that watermelons are packed in the most efficient way possible. This is called “hexagonal close packing”, or from a different angle “cubic close packing”.

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/HexagonalClosePacking.html

As a result, the packing density for spheres is about only 74% as efficient as a completely filled in cube. Now, in order to calculate the shipping efficiency, we would need to consider the dimensions of the pallet, the truck and the shipping container…. but I think the point is that it’s not too far of a stretch to see some energy savings. Clearly, it takes a bit more work to achieve this in labor and complexity, but perhaps there are additional values such as pest mitigation when the fruit is enclosed in a box as well as the number of fruit you can fit on a shelf that should be taken into account in calculating cost. Lastly, there’s also the intangible dimension of delight and novelty that might come with a square watermelon.

As far as keeping people awake, while the form of a square watermelon might be a little unsettling at first, I think it actually quite inspirational given how simple, non-toxic, and environmentally responsible the implementation actually is. If anyone knows of where I can get one in the US, I’ll be the first one to try it!

Also, the very concept of a square watermelon – even one made without genetic engineering – probably keeps those opposed to GM foods awake at night.