MELON TRIVIA and FACTS

U.S. Melon per capita usage:
	1970	1980	1990	2000	2011
Total	21.6 lbs	18 lbs	24.8 lbs	27.8 lbs	25.5 lbs
Watermelon	13.5 lbs	10.7 lbs	13.3 lbs	13.8 lbs	14.8 lbs
Cantalope	7.2 lbs	5.9 lbs	9.2 lbs	11.1 lbs	8.7 lbs
Honeydew	1.4 lbs	2 lbs	2.1 lbs	2.3 lbs	1.5 lbs
Other	n/a	0.1 lbs	0.2 lbs	0.6 lbs	0.5 lbs
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

Most people don’t know that melons are in the same gourd family as squashes and cucumbers. Most melons have similar structure to winter squash with thick flesh and inner seed-filled midsection.
So what’s the difference between melons and squashes? It’s the way that they’re used. Squashes are considered vegetables, while melons are known as fruits with sweet and juicy flavor.
CDC.gov - 5 a Day

One of the earliest records of melons is in an Egyptian tomb painting from 2400 B.C.

Christopher Columbus probably took the first melon seeds to the New World in 1494 (Haiti).

Many melons originated in the Middle East and gradually spread its popularity across Europe. Ancient Egyptians and Romans enjoyed cantaloupes or muskmelons. Melon seeds were transported to the United States by Columbus and eventually cultivated by Spanish explorers in California.
CDC.gov - 5 a Day

There are 108 people in the U.S. listed on whitepages.com with the last name 'Melon'
(Mark Morton, 'Gastronomica', Fall 2010)

The cantaloupe was supposedly named for Cantalou, a former Papal garden near Rome, where the variety was developed.

Alexandre Dumas loved melons so much, he offered to the city council of Cavaillon all of his published works and future publications in exchange for "a life annuity of twelve melons per year."

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See also: Article on Melons; individual melon entries

MELON TRIVIA and FACTS