Methods for selecting the best watermelon tend to vary, whether person to person or regionally. One woman’s method does not require buyers to have their ears up against the fruit to listen for the right sound in response to a flick, or rotating a large melon looking for a yellow ground spot.
Rather, she says watermelon buyers should measure the width of the stripes on the melon against their index and pointer finger to determine the ripeness.
TikTok user Michelle (@michellebellexo) says she was looking for a watermelon in Walmart at the request of her husband, and she did not know how best to select one. Her husband suggested she look for one using the method of comparing the width of the melon’s stripes to her fingers.
@michellebellexo The watermelon looked great y’all! How do you pick out a watermelon? I’m sure there is more than one way! #comeshopwithme #watermelon #groceryshopping ♬ original sound – Michelle Charlotte Bartender
“I think this is supposed to be common knowledge, but he told me the two-finger rule,” she says in the video. “If the stripe is two fingers wide, then it’s supposed to be good. We’re just going to go with this one, this one is good. I didn’t know how to pick out a watermelon”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Michelle via email regarding the video.
Some viewers shared their own best practices for selecting a good watermelon.
“Look at the bottom for a big yellow spot I farm watermelon,” one commenter wrote.
“my mom always thumps them & if it sounds hollow then it’s ripe,” another added.
“Yellow field spots and give it a few thumps it should sound hollow,” a third suggested. “A guy taught me this at fruit stand when I was 5 I never forgot.”
