Premium black watermelon auctioned in Japan for a record $6,100

[JonInNY]

You know, it just makes you wonder...

Black Japanese watermelon sold at record price: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

TOKYO (AP) -- A jumbo black watermelon auctioned in Japan on Friday fetched a record $6,100, making it one of the most expensive watermelons ever sold in the country.
In a society where melons are a luxury item commonly given as gifts, the watermelon's hefty price tag followed another jaw-dropping auction last month, when a pair of "Yubari" cantaloupe melons sold for a record $23,500.

The 17-pound, black-skinned "Densuke" watermelon, a variety grown only on the northern island of Hokkaido, was purchased Friday by a marine products dealer who said he wanted to support local agriculture, according to Kyodo News agency.

The price was the highest on record for a Densuke watermelon, said Kazuyoshi Ohira, a spokesman for the Tohma Agricultural Cooperative in Hokkaido. Most retail at department stores and supermarkets for a more modest $188 to $283, Ohira said.

And what makes a watermelon worth $200, much less $6,000?

Ohira says it's the unusual black skin and unparalleled taste. "It's a watermelon, but it's not the same," he said.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[dukalmighty]

I got black Krylon watermelons fer 1000.00 bucks a pop and at that price if ya buy 2 i will deliver them anywhere in the country.I will wait to paint them that way they are freshly blackened

[QKShooter]

Doggone...I wish that I would have known about the auction.
I gladly would have paid much more than that for it.

The two Yubari cantaloupe melons that I bought for $23,500 were a steal at that price and they would have been absolutely delicious but I accidentally dropped them on the way home and they both split wide open.
I had to pitch them out.

Man...I've been having some terrible luck lately.

Oh well, at least the purple tangerine that I bought for $2,000 was quite tasty.

[JonInNY]

Doggone...I wish that I would have known about the auction.
I would have paid much more than that for it.

Too bad... they would have made great targets for practice!

[dukalmighty]

If I ever go to japan and order a slice of watermelon and get a bill for $2000.00 I'm pleading temporary insanity

[Cthulhu]

Back when I was there, it was 200 - 250 yen to the dollar. Now, one US dollar MIGHT buy you a piece of gum.

-JT