Watermelon Seed Spitting Week ~ June 19-25

Did you know that Lee Wheelis holds the record for spitting his watermelon seed 68 feet 9 1/8 inches.  Now lets see how far you can spit your seeds!

First you need to know how to spit your seeds and the rules:

Things You'll Need

• Watermelon seeds
• Liquid
• Spitway

Spitting the Seed

1. Pick a large, black seed if you want to maximize your best spit.  It's heavier, so there is a better chance it will bounce and skip once it hits the ground (making your seed go farther).  Also, mature seeds are best because the heavier the seed, the better it handles wind or friction.
2. Drink water right before you put the seed in your mouth to keep it moist.  The seed is going to come out easier if it is moist rather than dry.
3. Run up to the line to gain momentum for your spit.  Any type of movement, such as spinning around before you spit, popping your head forward or running up, may help you to spit a more powerful seed.
4. Tilt your head upward and blow hard.  Get up to the starting line, and really let it go.  You're definitely going to have a better chance at spitting a seed far if you get some air behind the seed.
5. Last but not least, relax.  Though you may feel awkward, relax, grin and bear it.  There is no way you can look classy when you spit a watermelon seed, so if you loosen up, you're actually going to have a better shot at completing an aggressive spit.

Learn the Rules of the Game

1. Do not go outside the boundaries.  If you do, you are disqualified.  Some spitways are at least 15 feet wide.
2. Stand behind the starting line.
3. Spit 2 seeds.  Each contestant gets 2 spits, just in case one goes out of the bounds.
4. Measure the seed that goes the farthest, and record it.  After the last contestant spits, whoever has the farthest seed on the spitway, wins.

You might think I made this all up, but I did not.  I found it all here on ehow.com.

You don't have to go to those extremes to have fun.  We did this activity with my son's kindergarten class and they loved it.  Here are a few pictures. 

I also created place markers for where they spit their seeds so that everyone could see how far they needed to spit.

Here are my place markers.  You can download them here.

If you would like you can head to Luling, Texas for the annual Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest!

Spit Away!