What is the world's biggest watermelon?
One watermelon to rule them all: this particular fruit smashed records with its gargantuan size! TAG24 takes a look at the biggest watermelon in the world and everything there is to know about massive melons.
Few fruit could ever hope to reach the lofty heights of this monster melon.
We all know that watermelons can grow to some pretty impressive sizes. But just how big do they get – and what exactly caused the record-holder to swell to a genuinely preposterous size?
The world record holder for biggest watermelon in the world is a truly impressive fruit.
TAG24 takes a look at how big the biggest melon got, what type of watermelon grows to the largest sizes, and other fun facts about this fascinating fruit.
What is the biggest watermelon in the world?
The city of Hamilton in Ohio is home to one of the state's most impressive forts – and also the world's largest-ever watermelon! Discovered at the 2013 Pumpkin and Fall Festival, this giant melon beat the last record by more than 40 pounds, and is yet to be defeated even a decade on.
Weighed and legitimized by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, the biggest watermelon in the world was grown by Chris Kent, from Sevierville in Tennessee. This giant green watermelon was so big and so impressive that it housed around 1500 seeds, each of which made Kent a pretty penny in sales.
"We all share seeds and trade them back and forth... There should be over 1500 seeds in there," Kent said. "This [watermelon] is, without any doubt, the world's largest in terms of length and circumference."
It turned out, upon weighing in, that Chris Kent's mammoth melon was not just the biggest in terms of raw size, but in terms of weight as well.
How big was the biggest watermelon ever grown?
Kent's insanely huge watermelon was awarded the title of heaviest watermelon by Guinness World Records on October 4, 2013. At the time of weighing, the biggest watermelon ever grown came in at more than 350 pounds. It was made official at an award ceremony that took place at the Operation Pumpkin Festival.
Speaking to Guinness World Records, Kent said: "I always liked growing – even as a kid, I had a 'green thumb'. I love watermelons and they grow good in the South. It's a great honor. Not many people can say they have held a record!"
Biggest watermelon type
The clear sub-question to this mother-of-all queries is whether we're looking at hybrid, unnatural melons, or if we're going totally organic. We decided to go with the latter option because, let's be real, genetic modification is clearly cheating! That's why we're sticking to non-hybrid species.
The Carolina Cross is potentially the world's largest watermelon type, often producing monster melons that grow to be more than 250 pounds in weight. Featuring a sweet and succulent taste, this particular watermelon is not only hugely big, but hugely delicious as well! What more could you want?
The world's biggest watermelon is one juicy fellow!
The 2013 world record for largest and heaviest watermelon to have ever been grown may have been achieved a decade ago at this point, but it'll never be forgotten. A delicious and juicy ball of goodness, Kent's achievement is a testament to the fact that even accountants can grow giant melons.
Anything is possible with a reasonably-sized shovel, some seeds, and a well fertilized patch of ground!
Cover photo: imago/Xinhua