I crave watermelons nearly on a daily basis with how hot it is right now in China, but thousands of years ago, most people would not have enjoyed this fruit. I suppose it is like the ancient corn. Intruiging.
It's pretty incredible how much people can influence animals/plants through selective breeding. I remember seeing a video about how dog breeds have changed over time. I can't find it right now, but as an example, here's what a French Bulldog looked like ~100 years ago compared to what they look like now
It's actually really sad. Dogs began to be bred for aesthetics rather than for a certain purpose and now a lot of pedigree dogs have huge health problems :(. Here's the documentary I was referring to. As for the whole cat thing, I have no idea. I remember reading somewhere about the way cats being domesticated being very different to how dogs were. The gist of it was that dogs were domesticated for hunting/security, etc. where cats were just handy to have around to keep mice down. As a result, dogs became more dependent on humans (which is why they seem love us so much), and cats have more of a "meh" approach to humans. If someone on Hubski studies animals or just happens to have more insight, that'd be awesome!
Dogs are naturally more social than cats. Cats form groups to a degree but dogs have a hierarchical pack structure that makes them fit into human life more easily. That's why cats are assholes. Their instinct is not to please the alpha in the way a dog derives pleasure from adhering to its position in the hierarchy. This was a ridiculous point of contention in a relationship once. And I'm right goddammit. Dogs are better because they're capable of love! Fuck you Jessica! (/My little John Oliver style tantrum.)
I was just reading about this earlier: 100 Years of Breed “Improvement” (via r/TrueReddit)
All the misguided hippies are up in arms about GMO crops when the new GMO apple that doesn't brown has a similar genetic trick to the seedless watermelon. I'm so sick of anti GMO Facebook posts when the people posting don't even seem to understand the problem of Monsanto suing farmers over a patented seed is much bigger than apples turning you into a cancer ridden octopus person. If I didn't know the people on my Facebook I would think its the worst website in the world. So I mostly talk to strangers on hubski. Most of you are more interesting than my friends. Thanks.
I see your watermelons and raise you wild bananas and wild avocados.
I've always preferred the seeded watermelons, but I think they might just be easier to pick out good ones, although they're impossible to find in grocery stores nowadays. I think it is possible for the seedless to be just as sweet, but all too often, they're either underripe (not so sweet) or overripe (too mushy). The seeded ones are much easier to find in that perfect middle ground. I guess I'm like Goldilocks when it comes to watermelons, but they are one of my favorite fruits.But does the [seedless] flesh taste less-sweet than the black-seeded variety? That’s a matter for debate.