Melon-choly

Recently eaten: dry roasted almonds
Recent annoyance: dripping ceiling

My mom used to tell me that if I swallowed the seeds from a watermelon, a watermelon plant would grow out the top of my head. This doesn't have anything to do with the melon story below, just that my mom used to tell me terrifying stories.

Japanese melon sells for more than $6,000 (CNN)
There's nothing better than a sweet, juicy watermelon on a hot summer's day, right?

A marine products dealer in Japan plunked down a record $6,125 for this melon.

But what if you had to pay six grand for it?

A marine products dealer in Japan plunked down a record $6,125 (¥650,000) Friday for a black Densuke watermelon -- grown only on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Premium melons regularly go for eye-popping amounts there. Only three years ago, someone shelled out about $3,000 for one.

The one that sold Friday had dark green skin -- nearly black -- making it look more like a bowling ball than a fruit.

The nearly 18-pound (8 kg) watermelon, grown only on Hokkaido, was one of 68 sold as part of the season's initial harvest this year and is one of only a few thousand available each year.

As for the buyer, he said he wanted to support local agriculture, according to an official with a local cooperative.