Cold, sweet and mostly water
Why Is Watermelon So Refreshing?
Watermelon cools you down better than water does, and there are three separate reasons for it.
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Step 1 of 5
Water alone is not quite what you lost.
Sweat takes salt out as well as water. Replacing only the water dilutes what is left, which is why plain water is not the perfect answer after a hot afternoon.
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Step 2 of 5
Sugar helps the water get absorbed.
The gut absorbs water faster when there is a little sugar and salt with it. That is the whole idea behind rehydration drinks, and fruit gets there naturally.
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Step 3 of 5
It stays cold.
Water takes a great deal of energy to warm up, so a fridge-cold watermelon stays cold in your hand and in your mouth far longer than most food would.
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Step 4 of 5
The rind is the same fruit.
The white layer under the skin is edible and is pickled in several countries. It is simply the unripened part of the same flesh.
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Step 5 of 5
Seedless ones are made, not bred.
A seedless watermelon has an odd number of chromosome sets, so it cannot form seeds. Every one has to be produced fresh by crossing two different plants.
Watermelons were originally grown for their water rather than their sweetness, as a portable supply in dry country.
The short version
Watermelon is over nine-tenths water with sugar and salts in it, which is closer to what a hot body needs than plain water.
Try it yourself
Hold a slice of cold watermelon and a slice of cold bread. One is still cold minutes later.