The exploding watermelon stunt or exploding watermelon challenge involves wrapping rubber bands around a watermelon until the pressure of the rubber bands causes the watermelon to explode in a dramatic or spectacular fashion.
BuzzFeed event On April 8, 2016, the website BuzzFeed streamed the stunt live on Facebook.(11 April 2016). Why BuzzFeed Exploding A Watermelon On Facebook Is Not The Future Of TV, International Business Times During the 45-minute stream, the event peaked at over 800,000 live watchers, and the resulting video of the event garnered millions of views.Nashrulla, Tasneem (8 April 2016). We Blew Up A Watermelon And Everyone Lost Their Freaking Minds, BuzzFeed The event was parodied a few days later on The Tonight Show.Holub, Christian (14 April 2016). Jimmy Fallon parodies exploding watermelon video with 'Chicago Melon', Entertainment Weekly The show had attempted the stunt in September 2015 with Olivia Wilde, but cut the segment short as it was taking too long.Goldstein, Ian (26 September 2015). Jimmy Fallon and Olivia Wilde try to make a watermelon explode on The Tonight Show, Entertainment Weekly
The event generated discussion of the future of journalism where trivial events can garner significant attention.Rutenburg, Jim (18 April 2016). For News Outlets Squeezed From the Middle, It’s Bend or Bust, The New York TimesCastillo, Michelle (8 April 2006). The future of TV: 800K watch a watermelon explode, CNBCKleinburg, Scott (11 June 2018). "What an exploding watermelon teaches us about social media", Chicago Tribune"7 TV Shows With Fewer Viewers Than BuzzFeed's Exploding Watermelon Video", Wired (8 April 2016).Hathaway, Jay (8 April 2016). "Welp, the future of Facebook is exploding watermelons", The Daily Dot
Challenge origin The concept of putting rubber bands around a watermelon until it explodes first became popular on the internet as early as at least July 2012, when the stunt was filmed by The Slow Mo Guys with a very high frame-rate camera, but earlier videos date back at least to 2008.(16 July 2012). "Exploding a Watermelon with Rubber Bands", Laughing Squid
See also List of Internet phenomena Suikawari - traditional Japanese game involving attempting to split a watermelon using a stick while blindfolded
References