# Watermelon seeds

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-seeds/121756>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 31, 2002, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-seeds/121756 "2002-07-31T21:14:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![peasea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc79bd/32.png) [@peasea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peasea)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-seeds/121756/21 "2002-08-01T13:41:13Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Joe K \*  
> \*\*the range is 234-408, avg. around 300. \*\*

Where’d you get that number? Are you using the n/r method?

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**Author:** ![peasea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc79bd/32.png) [@peasea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peasea)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-seeds/121756/22 "2002-08-01T13:43:03Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Mangetout \*  
> \*\*When you eat a watermelon, along with the hard black seeds, you’ll often find a large number of soft flat white seeds; I _think_ I’m right in saying that these would have been hard and black too if the flower that preceeded the fruit had received more pollen grains, if this is true (botanists?) then there could well be a very significant difference between the number of black seeds in fruits (we should call them berries actually) of similar size. Not likely to be different by a factor of 100 though, no. \*\*

So, we’re not counting the white seeds, then?

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-seeds/121756/23 "2002-08-01T13:52:10Z")

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I don’t know.

**Joe K** is clearly using the n/r method; statistics offering such a range would never be expressed with such precise limits, it would be “between 200 and 450 seeds, averaging about 300”

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**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-seeds/121756/24 "2002-08-01T14:34:59Z")

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1…

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**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-seeds/121756/25 "2002-08-01T14:36:40Z")

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2…

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**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-seeds/121756/26 "2002-08-01T14:37:47Z")

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3…

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**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-seeds/121756/27 "2002-08-01T14:40:13Z")

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There, it takes 3 licks to get to the center of tootsie–

wait, what was I counting again 😕

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